Value
by AceTiff12
Summary: Feeling partly responsible for damaging Soul's motorcycle, Chrona promises to help pay for the bike's repairs and works at odd jobs to earn enough money. Contains lots of CroMa fluff. Includes pizza, Twister, and more! Crona's gender is not specified.
1. An Accident

"OH, SHIT!"

"_CHRONA!_"

Before I could turn my head, Ragnarok did it for me, shouting something my mind didn't have time to process.

I dropped the herbs and ducked just as Ragnarok shrank back into my skin.

The engine roared, and the brakes screeched. The noises pulsed through the air, louder than thunder. The vibrations made me tremble against my will. Dust, sand, and rocks pelted me, scraping my hands and sticking to my hair and clothing.

I stayed perfectly still, afraid to move.

The sandstorm raged relentlessly when a new sound erupted not too far away: a booming crash—metal colliding with rock. It happened so suddenly; I couldn't stop myself from gasping. This, of course, caused me to choke on all the desert sand flying around. I coughed until the dust settled.

And, for a moment, I couldn't hear anything. I panicked, thought I was going deaf. I felt too heavy to stand up.

"Chrona? _Chrona!_"

Maka.

I carefully opened my eyes. I managed to move a few of my fingers. My toes had feeling in them again. I lifted my head. Sand spilled.

Then I saw nothing but Maka. She knelt down in front of me, wiping the dirt away with strong, fluid strokes. She prattled at a mile a minute.

"Talk to me, Chrona. Anything broken? Are you okay? Were you hit? Does anything hurt? Here, look at me."

She grabbed both sides of my face and gently blew dust out of my eyelashes. She leaned in and rested her forehead against mine. She closed her eyes, and her heavy breathing began to slow down.

I didn't know what to do.

I just waited.

Her eyelids wouldn't stop shaking. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek. I tried to think of something to say. I should tell her I was alright. I didn't want her to worry. My mouth was so dry, though.

Maka's face was so sad when she looked at me. Her green eyes were glossy. Our noses almost touched.

She bit her lip. "I could've sworn that… I thought…"

"My baby…" Soul's voice whimpered, startling both of us. We turned our heads in his direction and saw that he was on all fours, reaching an arm out helplessly toward… his motorcycle.

Or, what was left of it.

Soul's bike had slammed into an enormous boulder. His whole body shuddered violently as he crawled to it.

Maka took my hands in hers and pulled us up.

"Soul…" she warned.

Ragnarok took the opportunity to emerge and shake his little fist at Soul. "Why dontcha watch where you're going, punk?-!"

Before I could tell Ragnarok how impolite it was to call him that, the weapon in question sprang to his feet and glared at us.

He pointed an accusing finger at his partner. "This is all your fault, Maka! If you hadn't distracted me—!"

"That's no excuse to take your eyes away from what's in front of you, Soul!" Maka stomped her foot. "Chrona could've been hurt! Or worse!"

"Hey! What about me, huh, she-pig?-!" Ragnarok pushed down hard on my head, forcing me to look at my shoes. "I bet if you weren't there, this wouldn't have happened! Probably flappin' your mouth off at him about some stupid crap!"

"That's exactly how it was!"

"FINE, THEN! GO AHEAD AND BLAME ME! IT WAS ALL MY FAULT! HAPPY NOW?-!"

Even Ragnarok seemed shocked at Maka's reaction because he loosened his grip. I was able to lift my head again. Maka stared at the ground with her hands clenched tightly to her sides. For a while, no one spoke. Nothing could be heard except for the sun's panting high above.

Soul sighed. "It's too hot to argue."

Maka sighed, too. The frustration on her face melted away as she turned to address me. "What were you doing out here, anyway?"

I thought about it for a second, then my mouth dropped open in horror. "The herbs!" I rasped. Getting on my knees, I swept some sand away. It didn't take long to find them, but by then it was too late. The fragile plants were ruined. Encrusted with dirt, they crumbled in my hands as I stood. Ragnarok voiced what I felt.

"All that work for nothing! Sucks to be you, Chrona!" He punched the top of my skull and disappeared, cackling. The remains slid through my fingers.

Maka stepped forward. "I'm sorry…"

I shook my head. "Don't be. The important thing is that n-no one was hurt, right?"

"Not really…" Soul muttered, gazing at his mangled vehicle.

"Hey…" Maka reached out and pulled my left hand up to her eye level. "You have a cut. See?"

She was right. A thin black line, maybe an inch long, ran down my pointer finger.

It didn't sting or anything, so I decided to tell her that it would surely heal on its own. But I never got the chance, because Maka then did something unexpected.

She put the cut finger in her mouth.

A million things happened at once. My heart stopped. I stopped breathing. I couldn't think. I couldn't blink. My stomach flipped. My knees buckled. I couldn't see. My other senses ditched me.

And then I felt lighter than air because of a sensation I rarely got to experience.

A tickle.

Maka's action made me happy—it made me want to smile and laugh.

I did everything in my power to _hold back_.

"Maka, that's gross," Soul scoffed as she finished and used her thumb to apply pressure over my cut. "And kinda dangerous, too."

"Shut up." Her answer was mild.

A warm breeze passed by, and I shivered.

Maka took hold of my wrists and said, "Let's get going. You can get a bandaid at our place. And besides…" She stepped even closer and looked me full in the eyes. She smiled. "I think you need a bath."

I gulped. The heat rose in my face, but it had nothing to do with the weather.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Welcome to my (pointless) fluff story! =D Allow me to explain a few things.

First, as you can tell, this fanfic has Ambiguous!Chrona. Using first person point of view makes it very easy for me to avoid picking a gender for Chrona. You wanna imagine Chrona as a boy? Girl? Neither? Both? Then go for it!

Second, there's lots of ways to spell Chrona's name. I usually switch between "Chrona" and "Crona," so, for the sake of this fanfic, I'm going to make sure to stay consistent.

Third, this doesn't really take place in the anime nor the manga, although there'll be occasional (and subtle) references to both.

Fourth, there will be ten chapters.

Fifth, this is rated T for some swearwords and for having Too many kinds of fluff: dirty fluff, romantic fluff, sappy fluff, crack fluff, creepy fluff, fluffy fluff, and a little bit of angsty fluff.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! I've saved the best for last! *sarcasm*

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Soul Eater_ or any of its characters. They belong to Atsushi Ohkubo-sama.


	2. A Decision

A/N: Heads up! This chapter contains Chrona... nakey! Heeheehee—

*shot*

* * *

><p>"Were you gathering those herbs for an assignment?" Maka asked as she opened the door to her apartment. Soul and his motorcycle were at the repair shop.<p>

"Sort of… They were for Marie-sensei."

We took our shoes off, and Maka offered to help me get more herbs later. She told me to make myself at home and pointed to where the bathroom was.

The door stood ajar, so I entered and immediately regretted it.

Blair sat there in the tub washing her… chest, humming softly.

She noticed me and waved. "Oh, hi!"

I screamed.

Maka came running. I tripped on my way to escape, and she caught me by the shoulders.

"T-The d-door was o-open…" I said, gripping her elbows.

"Blair, haven't you ever heard of common courtesy?"

"Ah-ah-ah!" the cat woman sang, wagging a finger playfully. "What's the point in me closing the door when there was no one around?"

"Well, hurry it up, please. Chrona needs to bathe."

Maka shut the door behind me. I started having second thoughts about cleaning myself in the same tub Blair had just used. But at least it was a private bathroom.

We went to the kitchen and had something to drink. Ragnarok, to nobody's surprise, popped out and demanded treats.

Once satisfied, he retreated, leaving Maka and I alone at the table. There was a small silence between us. Usually Maka would start a conversation, but this time I wanted to be the one to speak first. So I said the first thing that came to mind.

"Um… What were you and Soul talking about back there? Were you arguing?"

"Oh… That. Yeah. Uh." Maka blushed and fidgeted in her seat. "Sorry about that. If we weren't fighting we would've seen you…" She glanced to the side. "It was stupid… We were arguing over whose turn it was to dust the furniture." Her face turned completely red.

I blinked. Soul almost ran me over because he and Maka were busy disagreeing over a little thing like that?

"I'm really sorry, Chrona! Please forgive me!"

"N-No! I-I-I mean—! I'm not mad or anything! You don't have to apologize! It's just that…" I began to rub my right hand over the other. "You two seem to do that a lot…" I focused on the half-empty glass in front of me. "Even though you fight, you're still friends… I-I'm not sure I understand…"

"Hm… I guess it does seem strange. But it's just a normal thing for us. It's like… Kinda like you and Ragnarok. Sure, he teases you all the time, but it's not like you hate each other, right? As for Soul, I only yell at him because we're really close friends."

…That made _some_ sense, but I was still unsure. I suddenly felt icy cold. Ever since I came to Death City, Maka never yelled at me. Did that mean…?

She seemed to have read my mind, because she quickly added, "Oh, but we're really close friends, too, Chrona! I just treat you differently because you're too sweet to yell at."

She beamed, and I couldn't help but give a little smile back. I felt so lucky to have met her.

What did I ever do to deserve her kindness?

Blair walked in and announced the bathroom was free. She only wore a towel that barely covered where it was supposed to. I yelped and looked away.

Maka's eye twitched. "Could you _please_ put some clothes on?"

"But where's Soooul?"

"He'll be back soon. Now get going."

Blair pouted, but did what she was told.

"Sorry about that… again."

"Th-That's okay…"

I got to my feet and headed to the bathroom. I did a quick search to make sure Blair hadn't left any undergarments lying around. Then I closed the door and locked it. I checked three times to make sure it held.

I moved to the bathtub and turned on the water.

I glanced around the empty room before cautiously taking my clothes off.

I stared at the mirror.

I couldn't decide whether to be embarrassed or disgusted or both.

I did know one thing for sure, though.

I didn't like being naked.

I hated feeling vulnerable.

As soon as I turned the water off, there was a knock at the door. I slipped and nearly bumped my head.

"Here's some fresh clothes for you, Chrona. Let me take your old ones so I can wash them."

_Towel, towel, TOWEL! _I thought frantically, rushing as fast as I could in case Maka tried to open the door and the lock wouldn't hold and I wouldn't make it in time and she'd see me and—NO!

I covered as much of myself as I possibly could and unlocked the door. I opened it just wide enough to fit my arm through. I snatched the clothes from Maka's hands, thrust her my own, shut the door in her face, and locked it again.

I turned around, leaning against it. My heart pounded in my chest. I clutched the towel for dear life.

It was only when I heard Maka's voice that I realized what I had just done was somewhat rude. She sounded hurt.

"Don't forget to put a bandaid on when you're done, okay?" she said quietly.

I used the back of my right hand to wipe sweat, and some lingering dust, from my forehead.

I wanted to answer her, but I couldn't.

I parted my lips, but nothing came out.

Why couldn't I say anything?

I concentrated, but it was no use.

After several seconds of failure, I gave up. And anyway, even if I _could_ speak, it would be a late response. That would be awkward.

Would it be better to wait for Maka to talk again? Then I could pretend I hadn't heard her the first time.

There was a shift on the other side—Maka was leaving.

I listened to her footsteps fade away bit by bit.

No more danger. I was safe now.

But my feet were glued down. Why was it so hard to move?

Did I upset Maka? I didn't mean to.

I was just taking precautions…

My eyes gazed down at the cut on my finger.

I wanted to cry.

-xoxo-

The clothes weren't anything special… just some sweatpants and a long-sleeved maroon shirt with black buttons. It was hard to say who they belonged to. I liked how soft they felt.

I tiptoed to the kitchen. I could hear Maka talking to someone—Soul.

"—buy a new one?" she was saying.

"Not gonna happen," he replied.

"I can lend you some money, Soooul," Blair purred. She sat perched on his lap in her cat form. He rejected her offer, but appreciated it nonetheless.

I crept awkwardly into the room and seated myself at the table with them. I avoided looking at Maka until she placed her hand over my left one. The one that now had a simple beige bandaid adorning it.

She squeezed it gently, smiling softly at it. That was good. She wasn't mad at me.

I peeked over at Soul. He seemed unhappy, to say the least. He drummed his fingertips on the table and scowled.

"H-H-How's your m-motorcycle?" I asked him.

The next couple minutes went by with Soul ranting. Thankfully, the bike wasn't beyond all hope of repair. It'd just take a long while to fix and cost a bit more than he would've liked.

He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. "Borrowing money from people isn't cool, so I'll have to do this on my own…"

"No. You don't."

Soul's, Maka's, and Blair's eyes swiveled toward me. Did I really just say that out loud?

What a weird day I was having. The words almost never came when I wanted them to, and now they flowed out when I least expected.

"This was my fault, too. Let me make it up to you. I'll pay for everything."

"How?" Soul asked doubtfully. "Last time I checked, you weren't exactly loaded."

A small thud followed his statement, and he winced. Apparently, Maka had just kicked him under the table.

"What he _means_ to say is that he'll gladly accept your help. _Right?_"

"Right… Jeez…"

"Anyway, why don't you look for a part-time job and start saving up? As a Shibusen student, you'll get hired easily. If you work hard, I'm sure you'll earn enough in no time. And we'll all be there to support you." She grinned, as though she was proud of me.

Maka always seemed to believe in me.

But…

A job? Me? Working? As in, _employment_?

I never had one of those before…

I wasn't sure if I could deal with it.

* * *

><p><span>AN: Hugs and kisses to everyone who has read and/or reviewed! xoxoxoxoxox

Next time: Maka and Chrona gather herbs for Marie. ^_^


	3. You and I

Once Maka finished my laundry, the two of us headed out to pick herbs for Marie-sensei.

The sun hung low in the sky, struggling to keep its eyes open. We walked side by side, with Maka carrying an empty picnic basket. Marie-sensei _had_ said to get as much as possible, so we planned on filling the basket with all it could hold.

I led the way once we entered the desert, grateful that the temperature had cooled down. The herbs we needed grew in one of the smaller oases. I suddenly wished it had been one of the prettier spots… An oasis with tall palm trees and lots of flowers and sparkling water. The one we arrived at was so plain, I almost apologized to Maka for it. She deserved better.

But she didn't seem to mind—in fact, she looked excited. I took her to the edge with the most grass so we could work without worrying too much about getting dirty. She set the basket down between us as I instructed her on how to pull the plants out. We had to be careful because Marie-sensei didn't want any roots.

The basket was halfway full when we started to drift apart. It was halfway full when I got back on my knees and leaned forward, ready to pull out a large herb I'd had my eye on for a while. It was halfway full when my fingers scarcely touched the plant and Maka's voice spoke behind me, urgently.

"Chrona. Don't move."

I stopped.

My arm stretched helplessly in front of me. My fingers twitched. I heard her stepping toward me.

Did I do something wrong?

Was there something on my head?

Every breath I took shuddered. I tried not to blink. I tried not to panic. My teeth chattered.

I tried to think of something to calm me down. Mr. Corner. A nice, big, fluffy pillow. Maka. She was here, so everything would be okay.

I heard her cautiously approach until she made it directly behind me. Even though she was so close, I didn't hear her make a sound.

Then she moved even _closer_. She planted her feet on either side of me—I could feel her legs touching me. She stood over me, still as a statue.

Now I was scared _and_ confused!

I didn't know how to deal with Maka standing above me like this!

"Maka," I choked out, "what—"

"Shhh," she breathed.

Four agonizing seconds later, Maka dropped down and pressed her hands onto my back in one swift, scooping motion. She straightened up again, and that was it for me. I flopped onto the ground, not caring how the grass prickled my face. I wanted to pass out.

"You can move now, Chrona."

But I was so tired.

Maka stretched out her leg and poked me with her shoe. "You're not dead, are you?" she joked.

I clumsily got to my feet and turned around.

Her hands were cupped together. She leaned her face in to examine whatever lay inside. She looked up at me and grinned.

"Take a look at what was on your back," she said.

I braced myself for an ugly moth or spider or scorpion, but instead she presented a ladybug resting in her palms.

It was small, but its color made it hard to miss. Red as a rose.

A tiny gasp of amazement escaped me. I lifted my head to stare at Maka, my eyes burning with a question I was too nervous to ask.

She nodded with that little smile of hers, her hair bobbing.

I stepped forward—gingerly—until I was right in front of her. I glanced down. Maka's hands weren't that high. I really wanted to get a good look.

I swallowed.

Instead of bending down to see better, I placed my own hands around hers and slowly, slowly raised them up to a level that felt comfortable for both of us.

I peered into the makeshift bowl our fingers created and saw the ladybug much more clearly. Red wings, white markings on its head, and a black body. I counted only two black spots on its back.

The round beetle hadn't moved at all; I feared the worst until I noticed it move one of its legs slightly.

_Maybe it's timid_, I thought, _like me…_

My eyes flickered to Maka. She had her eyes partly shut, staring dreamily at the insect. Her head tilted somewhat to the side and her lips curled upward, barely.

"What's the difference between girl and boy ladybugs?" I found myself asking.

We kept our voices low so the bug in our cupped hands wouldn't get startled.

"It's hard to tell… But… What does it matter?" Maka dropped her voice even more, almost to a whisper. "Gentle, delicate, cute… I like them just the way they are."

My cheeks grew warm. The center of my gut gave an unpleasant lurch.

How could I feel so happy and sad at the same time?

"Oh!" Maka exclaimed quietly; the ladybug had just taken flight—as if it suddenly decided not to be afraid of a couple of humans anymore.

We watched it disappear beyond the pool of the oasis. Then I realized our hands were still…

Maka saw it too. I expected her to arch her eyebrows and let go, but she just shrugged and laughed lightly.

I felt an overwhelming desire to hug her.

Should I resist? My brain said yes, but my heart said no. Which one should I listen to?

"_Bravery is doing what you're afraid to do."_

Didn't Maka say something like that before?

I listened to Maka. I wanted to be brave.

I slid my fingers away from the bowl and closed the distance between us. I wrapped my arms around her. I stiffened but kept holding on.

I wanted to ask, "Is this okay?"

The words caught in my throat.

Maka began to push away.

_Oh, no_. My mind raced, trying to think up a good apology.

But I was wrong. Maka merely adjusted her arms so that she could hug me back.

I inwardly sighed in relief. I closed my eyes. I relaxed.

As the seconds passed, I made sure to take advantage of everything so I wouldn't forget. I mainly focused on how Maka's heartbeat felt against me—slow and steady, like a lullaby, _ba-bump_, _ba_-_bump_…

I took in everything. The scent of her hair, the warmth of her hands, the silence that surrounded us. I forgot about where we were or why we were there in the first place.

We stood motionless for what seemed like ages. I didn't want to let go, but I knew I had to. It was wrong to be so selfish.

I pulled away completely, looking at the ground. Now what? I hadn't thought about what I was supposed to do _after_ the hug. Should I say something? Yes, that sounded right… But what? Did I have to thank her? But what if the words didn't come out the way I wanted? Or what if they didn't come out at all?

Maka came forward and used her thumb and forefinger to lift my chin. She forced me to look at her. She wasn't smiling; her eyes wavered.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

I nodded once.

"Oh, good," Maka sighed. "I thought that—Well, never mind. It's silly."

Before I could gather up the nerve to ask what she'd been thinking, she released her hold on me and turned, saying, "We should probably get back to work, huh?"

"Y-Yeah."

I watched her go back to her own patch before remembering the large herb I'd been about to grab.

We filled the basket all the way to the top. I carried it.

As we left the oasis Maka said, "They say ladybugs bring good luck."

"Who?"

"Huh?"

"Wh-Who's they?"

Maka blinked, then laughed. She explained how the term "they" was more of an expression than an actual reference to any specific people.

"Do you believe in luck, Chrona?"

"Yes," I answered a little too quickly. I hesitated, wondering if I should go on. Maka looked curious. It suddenly became very important that Maka learn exactly what I was thinking.

"If there were no such thing as luck, I wouldn't b-be where I am right now. How-How else c-could someone like me end up with s-someone like you?" I knew it must've sounded weird, but it was the truth.

Maka shifted her attention to the mini dust clouds her feet kicked up. She frowned, and a crease etched itself onto her forehead. She said nothing.

I longed to know what was going through her mind.

She didn't speak again until we neared the city. By that time, night had arrived and the moon grinned down at us. She asked if Marie-sensei was up at the academy or over at Professor Stein's place. I wasn't sure; she might have gone to the latter since I last saw her. We decided to check the lab first since it was the closest.

Sure enough, she greeted us at the door as soon as we knocked. She pulled us in and let us know just how worried she was starting to get. Then she seemed to notice Maka for the first time.

"Oh, I see. You ran into Maka and forgot all about me. That's why you took so long. Well, I sure hope you two had fun."

"N-N-N-No, th-tha-that's not—! I-It w-w-wasn't—!"

"Relax! I'm just teasing!" she giggled, taking the picnic basket from my trembling hand. She led us further into the main room where Maka and I (still shaking) sat on the couch across from her.

"Let's see here… This is quite a bundle. Good job." Her cheeks flushed a bit. "Thanks for doing this for me… I've been pretty busy today and, well… I hate to admit it, but I probably would've gotten lost…"

"Those herbs are a special kind, aren't they?" Maka asked.

"Yes, they're for making an herbal tea that… Well, why don't I make some right now?"

"Yes, please," Maka and I chimed.

"So that's three cups, right? Stein won't be back until later…"

"Four," Maka corrected.

"Oh, of course," Marie-sensei said, and stood up. As the fourth member showed himself, she went on, "Ragnarok, you like your tea spicy, don't you?"

"Damn straight."

Our host nodded and disappeared, assuring us she'd have the tea ready in no time. Maka asked Ragnarok what was wrong with having milk or sugar or honey in his tea instead.

"That stuff don't toughen you up."

"You could at least give it a tr—" Maka interrupted herself with a sudden gasp. She stared at Ragnarok with her jaw hanging loose, as if she were seeing him for the first time.

"What's wrong, Ma—?" I started.

Without warning, she snatched up my hand—the left one—and carefully unraveled the bandaid. Her eyes widened at the sight of my cut-free finger.

"It's… already healed."

"Well, duh," Ragnarok said derisively. "What did ya expect? We're fast healers."

Maka released her grasp and hung her head. "So there was no need for a bandaid at all…"

"Yup, pretty much. You sure are stupid."

"Ragnarok!"

"He's right, Chrona." Maka sighed heavily and got up to throw the beige strip away. Her voice turned strangely husky when she returned to her seat. "Tell me… You knew the cut would go away on its own, didn't you? So why did you bother…?"

I smiled because it was an easy question.

"Because you wanted me to."

I meant it as a compliment, but Maka threw me a disapproving glare. She opened her mouth, probably to scold me for some reason, so I continued in a panic.

"A-And besides, it's not like it was a waste… I-I think it made it heal even f-faster than if I hadn't worn one at all… Umm…"

Maka smirked. "You're just trying to make me feel better." She looked at the floor, where her foot slid toward my own. It stopped right next to mine. Any further and they would've touched. She lifted her foot and let it hover for a while before letting it fall gracefully over mine. "Thank you. It worked."

I did my best to not withdraw my foot. I wondered if this was some kind of game I never heard about. When I brought it up, Maka blushed and shook her head, bringing her feet back together.

"We _could_ play a game, if you want." She suggested I Spy, which was something Ragnarok and I were familiar with. When we were younger, we'd play it in that scary room just to pass the time.

"_I spy something… black,"_ Ragnarok would say.

"_D-D-Darkness?" _I'd whimper.

"_Yup. Okay, now I spy something that's… black."_

"_Darkness?"_

"_Yeah. And now I see… some_—_"_

"_Darkness?"_

"_No cheating, Chrona! If you wanna play, then do it right!" _he'd scream, pulling my cheeks.

It was much nicer to play in a brightly-lit room. Through Maka, I learned that you had to take turns whenever someone guessed correctly. I narrowed my eyes at Ragnarok, but he just flicked my nose, so I stopped. We played until Marie-sensei returned with a tray of tea and biscuits.

My chest tightened. They were the very same cute cups from _that _time. The time I did something I shouldn't have. I tried to push the bad memories away.

"Thanks to those herbs, this tea is supposed to help relieve stress, reduce fear… It even helps sharpen your memory, too."

I paused. The cup in my hands burned my skin, but that only made me grip it tighter.

What should I do? If I drank it, would it really make me relive the incident I tried so hard to avoid? Already I could feel my mind slipping. Images of a pen, a snake, an unsuspecting smile, a pair of cold, manipulative eyes…

_No_… If it went on like this, it wouldn't matter if I drank the tea or not.

What about the lowering stress and fear part? Did that mean the tea would help me deal with the bad memory? Would it make me remember something else—a good memory?

Maka's hand rested on my lap and I flinched. A tiny drop of liquid shot out of the cup and hit me right between the eyes.

"Are you alright? You've been staring at your tea like it's a ghost."

"I'm fine," I assured her, a fake smile appearing on my face. I made an effort to not look at the woman across from us. But I didn't want to insult her, so I added, "It's just a little hot."

Marie-sensei said, "Be sure to blow on it first."

Ragnarok snickered loudly for some reason.

Maka removed her hand, but I wished she hadn't. There was only one thing I could do now.

The moment I took the first sip, I waited for something big to happen. When nothing did, my tension only increased.

"How… How long d-does it take for, uh, the effects to k-k-kick in?" I stammered.

The two girls gazed at me blankly, then burst out laughing. Ragnarok heaved a huge sigh of exasperation.

"It doesn't happen just like that, Chrona," Marie-sensei explained, snapping her fingers to emphasize the point. "The properties of an herb develop in a person over time, and they improve depending on how often you use it."

"Oh…" I lowered my head, embarrassed.

"So tell me…" She set her cup down and picked up a biscuit. "Now, I don't mean this in a rude way, but, why did you take so long to collect the plants?"

My weapon partner spoke up. "Because we nearly got hit by a motorcycle."

She stopped chewing.

Maka jumped in to tell her how it happened. As she listened, Marie-sensei took her time swallowing her food.

When Maka finished, our host smiled thoughtfully. "That was nice of you, Maka. And Chrona, I think I can help you with your job search."

"R-Really?"

"Azusa was just telling me how she wanted an assistant. She's been very busy recently, and I think you'd make a good errand-runner for her."

I couldn't believe my ears. Soon I'd be one step closer to helping Maka and Soul. "Th-That would be wonderful. Thank you."

She told me to meet with her after class tomorrow so that we could go see Azusa about it. I was reminded of the ladybug and wondered if it was responsible for this.

Once we had our fill, Ragnarok yawned and announced he was ready to hit the hay.

"Don't you have something to say to Marie-sensei first?" Maka urged him.

A vein throbbed on his head. He turned to our host with a grimace.

"Yeahthanks," he coughed.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"I _said_, thank you! Jeez!"

" 'Thank you very much!'" we chorused.

"You know what? Screw you guys!" But they just laughed and I just smiled. "You think you're so damn funny! Piss off!" And with that, he vanished in a huff.

Maka wiped away a tear. "Aww, I hope we didn't offend him."

"He'll be fine," I said. "He knows we didn't mean it."

"What's so funny?" a voice asked. We looked to see Professor Stein entering, closing the door behind him. The three of us stood.

"Welcome home," said Marie-sensei.

"Good evening, Professor Stein," Maka and I said.

"We were just laughing at Ragnarok. All in good fun, of course. The kids brought me the herbs I wanted. Sit down and I'll fix you some tea."

"Chrona and I were just leaving, anyway. It's getting late."

"Can you make it back on your own?" Professor Stein asked.

"Don't worry; we'll be fine. You should rest."

"Don't forget your basket, Maka," Marie-sensei reminded.

"Oh, right…"

We said our goodbyes and the adults told us to be safe. I held the door open for Maka. As soon as I shut it, I noticed how chilly the air felt tonight. I glanced at Maka's skirt and started walking at a faster-than-normal pace so that her legs wouldn't freeze.

"Where's the fire, Chrona?"

"Fire?" I squeaked, bewildered.

"Why the rush?"

"Oh… Aren't your legs c-c-cold?"

"It doesn't bother me too much," she claimed, twirling on the spot to prove her point. I slowed down so we could walk together at the same speed.

A few goose bumps had formed on both her legs. The knuckles on the fist carrying the basket turned white. I could see little puffs streaming from her mouth: her breath. Was she really okay with this, or was she pretending?

Soon she made a request. "Hey, do you mind if I hold your hand?"

"Yes—I mean, no! Uh, that is—" I went mute the second her fingers tangled up with mine. They blended, hers slender and smooth, soft yet firm while mine dangled loosely and limp, as if they forgot how to work. Maka's hand gave a quick bone-crushing squeeze, and my fingers instantly returned to life. I wrapped them around hers, strong and snug.

I wanted to read her face, but her bangs covered up her eyes. We strolled along in evenly matched steps. The bumps on her legs faded. I didn't have to worry anymore. As long as we stayed connected, I could share my heat.

Maka said she was happy for me. She knew I would be a good assistant for Azusa. I nodded and didn't tell her how nervous I really was. I wouldn't be surprised if Azusa rejected me. Or if she hired me only out of pity, or just as a favor to her friend.

"If you make a mistake, don't feel bad. Learn from it. It's okay to mess up every now and then."

_But if I keep making mistakes, won't that get me fired?_

That would be humiliating, but a new thought sprung to mind: if I lost one job, I'd get another. No matter what.

We walked the eerily silent streets of Death City with only the moon for company. Our footsteps seemed to echo around us. My heartbeat raced when we reached the point where we had to separate.

We came to a halt at the same time. I had to take the path on the left and Maka had to take the right. I calmed down a little when I saw how her path shined with plenty of light.

"Want me to go with you?" Maka examined my face with wide, serious eyes.

Why was she worried about me? I had Ragnarok, after all. She would eventually have to head home alone, with no weapon to protect her. If she walked me back, did she plan on calling Soul to pick her up? Did she plan on staying with me until morning?

Wait. What? That couldn't be right. That _wouldn't _be right.

"N-No, I'll be alright." The hand that held hers quivered violently. "Will you be…? Will you…" The words died. I frowned. I must've looked as stupid as I felt.

Maka nudged me with her shoulder. "Don't you worry about me. I'm tougher than I look." She winked and unfurled her fingers.

At that moment, relief washed over me. I gladly pulled my hand away because it had just started to sweat. Gross. I placed it over my arm. Our connection broke, but at least she'd stay clean.

Maka faced me and took a deep breath. The little cloud she exhaled danced and swirled mere inches away from my lips. She took a step back and clasped both hands behind her back. She smiled.

"See you tomorrow."

That was the part I dreaded the most. How did she know? How could she sound so sure?

What if something terrible happened between now and the next time we saw each other?

What if we didn't see each other tomorrow?

How did she know? What if we never saw each other again?

What if this was the last time…?

I knew the chances were slim, but if it really _was_ the last time I saw Maka, then I'd want our last moments to be memorable.

That was why I hated saying goodbye to her like this. I had to come up with something meaningful to say, just in case. Because anything could happen, and you'd never know.

Nothing good came to mind.

So I did the only thing I knew I could do without screwing it up.

I gave her a sad smile.

* * *

><p><span>AN: This is one of the biggest reasons why I don't think I can write a story that well: I'm not very knowledgeable. I have no idea if you can find a ladybug in an oasis. And the only research tool at my disposal right now is the internet... And by that, I mean Google. -_- Sorry for ranting.

But then again, this _is_ (fan)fiction...

I like how Marie and Maka are Stein and Chrona's madness-suppressors, respectively. So remember, folks! A hug a day keeps the madness away~!


	4. Boss

I panted, willing my legs to move faster. I ran and ran and ran. The dim corridor stretched on and on. Endless.

_Maka, please don't die…_

In the distance, I finally saw the outline of a door. My light at the end of the tunnel. I sped up.

I grinded my teeth and hurled myself against the door. It crashed open. I stumbled.

Blinking rapidly at the sudden brightness, I straightened. The room was way bigger than I imagined.

Emptier, too.

A hospital bed was tucked in the furthest corner. Other than that, nothing. Just me, the bed, its occupant, and pale yellow light.

A room this size wouldn't suffocate anyone, so why was I hardly able to breathe? A room this size shouldn't feel so stuffy.

Hot. Damp. Sticky. My head spun.

This was no time to vomit.

I bent over, hands clutching my knees.

I coughed. My throat was on fire. My lips, my mouth, my tongue—all dried up. I couldn't stop. I squeezed my eyes shut.

My skin crawled.

I hacked and feared that if I looked at the floor, I would see a puddle of puke or drool or blood. Or any combination of the three.

My flesh screamed, begging to be scratched.

I couldn't collapse because my feet were like concrete.

I unleashed one more loud cough, and my fit ended.

It left my body itchy and weak.

My entire dress was damp.

Sick!

I wanted to take it off, but I couldn't. Not in front of her.

I raised my head and lifted my eyelids.

The figure on the bed hadn't moved. Was she asleep? Was she already—Was I too late?

_Come on, move…_

My feet weighed a ton. I literally had to grab my leg and force it to drag one foot in front of the other. After a few steps, I thought it would get easier.

But with a room this big, it'd take forever.

It was hopeless!

How was I supposed to deal with this?-!

I needed to check on Maka! How could I do that if my body didn't listen to me?-!

At this rate, a snail could beat me to the corner. My eyes watered because the more I trudged, the further away the bed seemed.

My neck and back were ready to snap.

I took a moment to wipe my face. When I tugged on my leg again, though, it didn't budge. I tried the other. No use. They were nailed down.

I sunk to the ground. I hugged my knees and buried my face in them.

I needed to clear my head. I blinked slowly, watching my chest rise and fall. I welcomed the silence.

Now, what should I do? Walking was impossible. Maybe I should crawl.

I waited for more ideas until a groan pulled me from my thoughts. Maka? It had to be.

The bed creaked, and I jumped up. Next thing I knew, I was standing right by it.

Maka lay flat on an old mattress, no sheets, blankets, or covers. Just a pillow. Her hair was down and strewn about. She wore nothing. Only a thin, white towel covered her. Black, blue, and purple bruises ran up and down her neck, arms, and legs.

It hurt to look at her.

That nauseous feeling crept into my stomach.

Her eyes and lips were closed. She was too still.

I should've walked her home.

"You should've walked me home." Her voice was soft but distinct. Nothing but her lips moved.

"I'm sorry," I muttered.

Her eyes opened partially. They stared at the ceiling, almost lifelessly. "Why are you here?"

I quickly drew my hand back, having nearly placed it over hers. "I… I was worried about—"

"Maybe you're confusing 'worry' with something else," she said, a little fiercely. "Like guilt, maybe? Have you come to redeem yourself?"

I fumbled with my hands. "N-No… I only came to make sure you were okay! That's all, that's the only reason…"

Why wouldn't she look at me? Did she really blame me for this? I didn't mean it.

I stood there, rubbing my hands together. Surely Maka would get through this? Her injuries didn't seem fatal…

Maka was so quiet, not doing anything. Not even blinking. It was even hard to tell if she was breathing.

When Maka didn't talk, I decided to do it instead. The towel bothered me, so I tried asking the one question I feared knowing the answer to.

"Did… Did they…?" My nose started running. I used my drenched sleeve to wipe it. "Did they… do… things… to you? Like, besides b-beat you…?" If the answer was yes, then they didn't have very long to live.

Maka's eyes closed. She stayed still and silent.

My nose ran again, but I left it alone. Was she breathing? I wanted to check, but I was too scared. I trembled from head to toe. I jammed my eyes shut and let the tears fall.

"Please, Maka… I don't know what to do; I don't know how to deal with you being so quiet and not moving… I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, after everything you've d-done for me…! I know I'm worthless, but I-I always try so hard—I'm trying to get better, for you…" I wrapped my arms around myself, but I kept on shaking. I squinted and saw that she hadn't moved an inch.

Was she listening? Could she hear me?

I dared to open my eyes all the way and lean forward. I tilted my head and lowered my ear just above her nose and mouth, making sure not to touch.

It was small, but it was there. She was breathing.

One of my tears fell on her cheek, and I jolted back up in horror.

But Maka showed no reaction. And there was nothing I could do to get rid of it. I couldn't wipe it off; that would mean touching her or almost touching her. I couldn't blow it off, that would mean getting too close to her. Filthy…

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I wish I knew how… I wish you'd tell me what I can do to help—I'm not good at this, so…"

She could be asleep for all I knew. Maybe she wanted peace and quiet, so she could rest.

"Do you want me to leave?"

No answer. A new wave of tears flowed. I didn't want to leave. I kept talking, even though I knew I sounded weak and pathetic.

"I don't know if you're ignoring me or just tired. But I just want to say that no matter what, I'll always be your friend. As long as you're alright, then I know I'll be alright. I don't know what I'd do if you were gone, Maka. I can't lose you, because I care about y—"

"Stop."

Her voice lashed out, strong and demanding. The tear on her cheek had disappeared.

Maka struggled to sit up, holding the towel to her chest. She turned her head to look directly at me for the first time.

The light cast shadows under her eyes. She regarded me with an expression I knew all too well from my childhood: contempt. She spoke to me, her words dripping with disgust.

"You need to grow up."

-xoxo-

As I got ready for class, I wondered if I should tell Maka about my dream. No, of course not. But what should I say when she asked me what's wrong? Somehow, Maka could always tell when something bugged me. If that happened, I'd shrug it off by saying I was nervous about seeing Azusa. That way, I wouldn't really be lying.

I saw her sitting in the middle row, waving me over. I sat next to her, studying her from top to bottom. No bruises. So it really was just a bad dream.

Maka cleared her throat. "I said, 'good morning.'"

"Oh, uh, good m-morning."

"Did you sleep well? You look exhausted." She brushed my bangs out of the way, pressing her palm against my forehead. She brought the back of her other hand to her brow. She scanned my face, searching for something.

I didn't move. I reminded myself that the Maka from my dream wasn't real. The girl in front of me was. I let my shoulders droop. I let myself ease up.

Just as I gave in to the comfort, I felt the slightest prick in the back of my neck. People were watching us.

"I guess you don't have a fever," Maka said, lowering her arms. "Is there something bothering you?"

I gave her my excuse and she offered kind words to make me feel better.

During lunch, everyone wanted to hear about the motorcycle incident from my perspective. Unfortunately, my mouth was full, so I couldn't answer right away. Ragnarok, however, immediately leaped into the spotlight.

"And so then I was like, 'Hey, Chrona, don't you hear that?' But ol' Numskull here was busy spacin' out over the plants. Next thing you know—KABLAM! We flew ten feet in the air!"

He talked loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear. A little crowd had formed around our table, staring curiously at my weapon partner. He loved the attention.

"It came outta nowhere! It was a hit-and-run! I'm lucky to be alive!"

"That's not how it happened, Ragnarok!"

Great. I shouldn't have said anything. Now everybody was looking at me.

I didn't know how to handle all those eyes staring at me. Watching me. Judging me. Waiting. Expecting.

Something soft and warm settled on my lap. All thoughts of how I would mess up in front of everyone vanished. Maka's hand lay flat and still. It felt light, feathery.

I checked her face, hoping to see two wide emerald eyes glowing with encouragement. But Maka wasn't looking at me. She was looking at her plate, calmly chewing her food.

"Um… Soul swerved out of the way just in time. We weren't hurt, but the bike crashed and…"

"And then it burst into flames and exploded! There was smoke and fire everywhere! We barely got outta the way! We're lucky we survived!"

"S-S-Stop over-exaggerating…!"

"You don't know how to tell a good story!"

"A-At least it—it's the truth…"

Someone asked what really happened to Soul's bike. Soul himself spoke up and said it was at the repair shop. He answered questions like how bad the damages were, how long it would take to fix, and how much it would cost. The way he talked, it was as if someone close to him was dying.

Two girls cooed over him, trying to comfort him. They shot me hateful looks. I fidgeted and tried to pretend I hadn't seen. No doubt they thought the whole thing was my fault.

Maka's hand slid down to my knee. She frowned at the girls.

Again, I wished I could tell what she was thinking.

-xoxo-

According to Marie-sensei, Azusa was in the Death Room. As we headed there, she gave me tips on how to make a good impression.

"Make sure to stand nice and straight; Azusa doesn't like it when people slouch…"

I gulped and brought my back to its most upright position.

"Don't clutch your arm like that. You can't act like you're afraid of her."

_But it's not an act. I really am afraid._

My fingers didn't want to leave my arm. It seemed cruel to pry them apart. They were super-glued together. Once separated, my arms felt awkward and wobbly.

I picked my chin up so that I'd stop looking at the floor. I saw the door to Shinigami-sama's chamber just ahead. I breathed in and out through my nose.

My feet nearly tripped over themselves when a woman emerged from the door. Tall and thin with short dark hair, she carried a thick manila folder stuffed with important-looking documents.

Marie-sensei quickened her pace, and I had no choice but to follow suit.

Azusa saw us coming and stopped. She greeted her colleague and, when asked, answered that she could spare a minute or two. She listened patiently as her friend explained my situation and requested her to hire me as her assistant.

The Death Scythe turned her head toward me, as though suddenly realizing I was there. Her face hardened. One hand reached up and adjusted her glasses so that they caught the light. Her frown deepened and she pulled herself up to her full height.

It was hard not to shrink under that piercing glare. I blinked, but refused to look away. I couldn't show any signs of weakness.

My hands, though, begged to differ. They were itching to grab hold of each other, or twist the front of my dress, or cling to my arms. Anything to stop them from feeling empty and useless and uncomfortable.

To keep them from shaking, I balled them into tight fists at my sides. I squared off my shoulders and stared into the gleaming lenses.

I wouldn't back down. I wouldn't run away. I made a promise to Soul and Maka. I promised myself I would go through with this.

Azusa smirked.

She took her hand away. The light faded.

"All right, then. You can run errands for me, but I can't be sure how long I'll need your help. I'll give you an hourly wage, starting this Friday. Meet me in the library at exactly 4:00 p.m. If you are even one minute late, then you can just forget the whole thing. Understand?"

I nodded. "Y-Yes, ma'am…"

Marie-sensei smiled. "Chrona's a good kid, Azusa, so I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

It was nice of her to stick up for me, but I had a feeling it would take more than just being "good" to impress Azusa. Getting the job had been one thing; actually doing the job would be another. What kind of things would I have to do…?

I thought about it all throughout dinner. The cafeteria was mostly empty around this hour—only late-working staff and students ate and mingled with each other before turning in for the day. I never had to worry about anyone taking my favorite table nearest the corner.

I picked at my plate, thinking of how my first day would go. If it was in the library, it shouldn't be too bad. I liked that place. I'd show up early. Once I made it through the first day, the rest would get easier.

As long as I didn't mess up, everything would be fine.

"Chrona, you've been picking at your food for ten minutes now," Ragnarok said, tugging at my ear. "How am I supposed to eat your leftovers if it gets all cold?"

"I-I'm eating. All of it," I answered. "Besides, why don't you eat your own and leave mine alone?"

"Uh, newsflash! I've _been _finished, idiot!"

"Oh… W-Well, you can't have any of mine."

"Even when you don't finish?"

"What m-makes you think I won't? I-I always do…"

"Oh, really?" he asked doubtfully.

"Yes!"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL SO FUCKING SKINNY?-!"

Every single one of the very few people in the room whirled their heads to stare. Ragnarok might as well have shouted to the whole city. Beads of sweat dotted my forehead before I could blink. I opened my mouth to scold him, but he dove back into my skin, leaving me the only one to suffer.

I slammed my jaw shut and hung my head over my untouched meal. The suffocating silence made me dizzy. They were still looking at me, I knew it. Any second and they'd start whispering. Then they'd tell others. The cycle always began the same way, but it never ended.

I should probably just leave. Maybe if I got out of here now, then no one would remember what I looked like.

But I couldn't just take the food with me, could I? And I didn't want to just leave it. That'd be such a waste.

Noises of mundane conversation gradually drifted back. I peeked out from under my bangs and saw that nobody paid attention to me anymore. They were probably talking about it, though. But I couldn't hear them, so I'd never know. I would never know.

It was probably still fresh in their minds, though.

I decided to eat even though I wasn't very hungry anymore. The sooner I ate, the sooner I could go and shove the humiliation deep into a dark corner of my brain.

By the time I took the third bite, I was positive I wouldn't throw everything up. I drank some water and marveled at how its clear, crisp taste seemed to soothe me from the inside out.

I chewed on some rice, slowly and carefully, and swallowed. Then everything went black.

Someone had covered up my eyes. My instincts told me to get ready to defend myself.

But my fear evaporated the instant the culprit's voice sang out, "Guess who?"

Were my ears playing tricks on me? It was too good to be true. "Maka?"

"Bingo."

Her hands slipped away. I looked over my shoulder and there she stood, grinning brightly.

I ignored the sudden impulse to grab her shirt, bury my face in it, and wail about how mean Ragnarok had been to me.

I resisted because…

"_You need to grow up."_

Because I wasn't a baby.

Maka went to sit across from me.

Behind her, I could see a group of four glancing frequently over at us.

I tensed and spoke of the first thing that came to mind before Maka noticed. "So, uh… What are you still doing here? I thought you went home a long time ago."

Her face turned sour. "Papa called me. He's in the nurse's office because of a stupid stomachache. But he acted like he had cancer or an ulcer or something! Nygus-sensei and I tried to calm him down—We told him it was nothing to worry about, but it took forever." She paused, staring at my plate. "I think he was having an early midlife crisis. Or something."

She didn't take her eyes off my food.

"Are you hungry?"

"No!" she exclaimed, but not loudly enough to cover her growling stomach. Her cheeks colored and she refused to look at me.

I found it hard to believe that even people like Maka could get nervous and embarrassed, too. What a relief to know that I wasn't the only one.

I smiled shyly. "Would you… Do you maybe wanna share?"

At first Maka shook her head, but her tummy rumbled again in protest. She groaned and decided to compromise. "I'll just have a little."

I pushed the plate closer to her. She held her hand over the fork and spoon, unsure of which one to take. I gave her the fork while I used the spoon.

Dinner tasted a lot better than it had a short while ago.

Twice, we both reached for the same thing and our utensils clinked together. We both wanted the other to go ahead. We both said no and kept insisting back and forth until Maka giggled and gave in.

We ate in silence. For once, I didn't care when someone's eyes darted to us.

That is, until Maka started looking at me closely.

I stopped eating. "W-What is it?"

"You've got some sauce here…" Maka poked herself on a spot near her chin.

I tried to mirror her. "Here?"

"No, there… Lower… More to the left… No, I mean right… No, I—Here." Maka leaned forward and grazed her thumb over the side of my chin.

Then she put her thumb to her lips, licked the sauce up, and went right back to eating like nothing happened.

But it did. It happened so quickly; I didn't know how to react. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anyone saw.

I wished she wouldn't do things like that in places where anybody could see. I wanted to tell her, but changed my mind at the last second.

To me, it felt… weird. Wrong.

To her, it was perfectly normal.

She didn't think what she did was odd, so I kept quiet.

It wasn't until I gulped down the last of my water that I realized Maka had nothing to drink. I set my cup down nervously, wondering if I should go get her something, but she got up and did it herself. If I'd only remembered earlier. Then I could've gotten napkins while I was at it, too.

I wasn't expecting her to come back with a root beer float topped with whipped cream and a cherry.

"I got the last one!" she announced, showing me her milky pearls of teeth.

She sat down, nudged our empty plate aside, put the glass between us, and pulled two straws out of their wrappers. "Let's share dessert, too."

"O-Okay…"

Maka dipped her straw into some of the vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. She took it out and sampled it.

"Mmm… I knew I forgot something."

"A spoon?"

"Yeah… Do you mind?"

I handed her my spoon. We shared it too.

But we didn't share the cherry.

I picked it up by the stem and held it out to her. "Here."

She inspected it for a moment before raising her eyes to mine. They softened. She placed a hand over the one holding the cherry.

"But you want it."

It was a statement, not a question.

I blinked. How did she know that? I said nothing, neither denying nor confirming the truth.

She gently pushed my hand back toward myself. "Take it."

So, I did.

Maka took a few sips and asked, "Do you always have dinner here?"

"Yes."

"All by yourself?"

"Well, besides Ragnarok. Yes."

Maka pursed her lips. She didn't approve. I assured her it was alright; I didn't mind at all. She nodded, but still looked unconvinced.

We drained more of the root beer float, lost in our own thoughts.

Then Maka opened her mouth to say something. I waited, but she ended up closing it. She twisted the spoon between her fingers.

She focused on her straw as she opened her mouth again and spoke. "Um… After I left Papa, I came to find you. I wanted to know… how it went." She peered up at me and went on, her voice delicate. "Did Azusa…? Did she…?"

I smiled, eager to tell her the good news. "Yeah, she did it—I mean, I did it—I mean—Azusa's gonna let me be her assistant."

Maka's face brightened. "Really? That's great! I knew you could do it, Chrona!"

Hearing her squeal my name like that sent a strange, pleasant tingle down my spine. She sounded so happy for me, so proud of me. My cheeks grew hot, so I knew I was blushing. I rubbed the back of my head and gave a small nervous laugh.

"When do you start?"

"This Friday," I replied in a voice so light and airy, I barely recognized it.

"And today's Wednesday, so… Hey! Y'know what we should do tomorrow?"

_Uh-oh._ I froze. I knew where this was going.

_Don't say it… Please don't say it…_

"We should have a party!"

_Damn._

I forced a grin. "Y-Y-Y-Yeah."

-xoxo-

We held it at Black*Star and Tsubaki's place because it was just the right size: not too big and not too small.

It wasn't that I didn't know how to deal with parties, because I did, a little bit. It was just… I'd never been to one that was meant for _me_.

I figured since we were celebrating something _I _did, everyone would pay the most attention to me. I was right, so I had to put up with it.

Black*Star kept challenging me to arm wrestle for some reason. I actually almost won on the fourth try.

Soul wanted to know about my meeting with Azusa. His eyes widened in surprise when I told him how she'd fixed me with her ominous glare. They were all amazed to hear that I'd withstood it.

I shrugged. In my head, I wondered what the big deal was. I'd suffered under worse stares. They were much, much scarier.

We ended up playing a game called Twister. Maka thought I would be good at it, and I soon found out why.

The rules of the game were simple, so I got used to it right away. The big colored dots on the mat reminded me of gumballs in a gumball machine. No position was too difficult for me to handle.

"Right hand, yellow."

Easy.

"Left foot, green."

Maka was almost right. I would've been an expert at this new game if it weren't for one problem.

I had to share the mat with the other players! It was impossible to play without touching someone!

Just thinking about all the awkward positions I was forced into made me dizzy. Nobody else seemed disturbed—they actually enjoyed it! How could they laugh so carelessly? None of them sweated or blushed from embarrassment, but from having fun. I envied them.

At the first sign of danger, I slipped up on purpose so I'd be out and freed from this torture. Each time I did, Maka would look at me, one of her eyebrows raised.

By the time everyone was ready to call it quits, I breathed a sigh of relief. I never wanted to play that game again for as long as I lived.

Maka, on the other hand, had other plans.

"One more round," she insisted.

The others groaned and ignored her.

"C'mon, Chrona. Just once more. I want you to actually try this time." Maka wasn't using the kind, gentle voice she usually used to get me to do something. She was serious.

I nodded, fearing what she would do if I refused.

Maka pleaded for someone to referee and Patty happily volunteered. Everyone else left the room.

I bent down and smoothed out my side of the mat as Maka did the same on hers. We stood to face each other, but I couldn't bring my eyes away from the floor. Patty spun the arrow.

"Right foot, red."

Maka went all out. She seized every opportunity to get as close to me as possible. Lucky for me, she couldn't stretch herself fully and risk weakening her balance.

Meanwhile, I worked on staying as far away from her as possible. I had the advantage. My reach was longer and my balance was stronger.

But as the minutes dragged on, it looked like Maka would catch me in a trap. I desperately hoped for certain colors to be called next.

Before I knew it, the inevitable happened. Maka and I were practically _stuck_ in a clumsy position. Our faces were way too close. My vision started to blur because sweat leaked into my eyes.

I hated this.

Apart from her soothing, deep breathing, Maka was still. Her forehead was a little damp and her cheeks were a little red, but that was only because she was getting tired.

Her lips curled upward. "Are you gonna pretend to fall now?"

"No."

Since the worse had happened, there was no point in trying to run away anymore. I concentrated on winning.

The game went on. I was thankful that Patty was the only one watching us. If I had to do this in front of everyone else, it would've been a disaster.

The next turn required me to move my left hand.

One of my legs was wrapped around hers—or was one of her legs wrapped around mine?

I stared down at Maka's face, then at my left hand in terror. If I lifted it, no matter how carefully, it'd touch her skirt. I just had to grit my teeth and get it over with.

But my rush was literally my downfall. The instant I jerked my hand up, I lost control.

Because I was falling, I gasped.

Because I was gasping, my mouth was open.

Because it was open, _it brushed over Maka's ear_.

My forehead smacked against one of the red circles.

_No… No!_

_NononononononononoNO! _This couldn't be happening!

But it was. And it did.

The taste in my mouth proved it.

I scrambled to my feet and stepped off the mat.

Maka hadn't moved.

Her face paled.

"I'm _s-s-s-s-sorry_!"

I covered my mouth with both hands and ran, nearly knocking poor Patty down along the way.

I ran blindly at first, but soon found myself in the bathroom. I slammed the door shut and locked it. Panting, I sunk to the floor.

I lay there, resting my head against the cold tile. I wished Ragnarok would burst from my back and point and laugh at me. I thought he liked seeing me in distress. I needed something to distract me.

The taste of Maka's ear wouldn't go away.

What had I done? It was an accident, but I still violated her.

I'd understand if she never wanted to be near me ever again.

I drew my knees up and hid my face in them.

I wanted to die. Or disappear. Or both.

I didn't know how to deal with these disturbing thoughts, so I started counting off the seconds. I stopped when I reached three hundred. No one had come to check on me. Good. Maybe they all forgot about me.

301. 302. 303.…

410. 411. 412—

A quiet knock interrupted.

I peeked out through the crack under the door, but I couldn't tell if it was her or not.

I wasn't sure whether to say "Hold on" or "Go away," so I decided not to answer at all.

My body ached, so I sat up and stretched my arms and legs.

"Chrona."

So it was her. I trembled.

"Chrona, open this door or I'll break it down."

Was Maka really strong enough to do that? I didn't want to wait and find out.

I stood and unlocked the door with shaking fingers. I grabbed the doorknob and held on to it so tightly I was afraid it'd snap off.

I opened the door inch by inch, keeping my eyes glued to my feet. A quick glance showed me that Maka was standing a few steps away, giving me room to walk out.

I crept forward, my eyes now focused on her feet. I didn't want to know what kind of face she was looking at me with.

"You don't need to worry anymore," Maka said softly. "It wasn't your fault."

I bit my lip. Her foot moved as if to come close to me, so to stop her I started talking.

"But don't you see? This is what happens when I try to do something I don't wanna do. I didn't want to play, but I did anyway, and look what happened!"

"Chrona, sometimes things just happen. And they're going to keep on happening in the future, whether you like it or not." Maka's voice grew stronger with each word. "The only thing we can do about it is accept it and move on. Don't dwell on something you can't change."

_Easier said than done_, I thought. But she was right. I couldn't let my regrets slow me down.

I allowed my eyes to travel up. Her face emitted a small but distinct amount of concern.

Why was Maka such a wonderful person?

I stared at the ear I'd offended and moved closer. I raised my hand and let it hang in the air, waiting for her permission.

She did nothing. She didn't move or resist as my hand drew closer.

I touched her ear as lightly as I could. I might've seemed calm on the outside but inside I was a nervous wreck. What gave me the right to do this, after what I'd done? I didn't deserve any of this, and yet there she was, willing to forgive and forget just like that.

By way of apology, I gave the ear a quick squeeze. Maka lifted her hand and gripped mine. At first I thought she was going to rip it away. I panicked, but then noticed the adorable smile she was giving me. Her eyes were gentle and deep. It only made my stomach do even _more_ backflips.

After a few moments, Maka slipped away and turned, saying cheerfully, "Let's go back to the others."

Oh, no. I'd forgotten about them. Did they know about what happened? Had Patty seen?

"_Poor, naïve Chrona_—_always making a big fuss over nothing."_ They might not say it aloud, but they could be thinking it.

I reached for Maka's back and caught a fistful of her shirt. She gazed curiously over her shoulder. I swung my eyes to the floor as a chill swept over me.

I tried to tell her I was scared of what everyone would think, but all that came out was a whimper.

In the following silence, we stood like statues. Part of me wanted to let go of the shirt and part of me wanted to pull it closer.

Maka turned around to face me; my fingers released the fabric because they were beginning to shake uncontrollably. All of me was.

With one hand, Maka backed me against the wall. With just one hand? Was she getting stronger or was I getting weaker?

She hadn't pushed me roughly, but I squeaked anyway. She placed her right hand on my shoulder. She wove the other hand into mine. She closed her eyes and lowered her head.

I knew what she was trying to do. She was trying to match our soul wavelengths.

I shifted my weight to one side. It suddenly occurred to me just how dim the hallway was. If anyone were to walk in on us, they might take it the wrong way.

Why didn't Maka notice it too? Or did she just not care?

I struggled uselessly. Maka stood on top of my feet, anchoring me.

"Be still," she whispered.

I stopped fidgeting, but my heart hammered on. I took one final deep breath and slowly let my head drop. A few of my bangs mixed into hers. The hand being held by her slender fingers grasped back. My free hand clung to her elbow. I let my eyelids fall and surrendered my soul to Maka.

-xoxo-

I showed up at the library ten minutes early. Just as my boss had instructed, I found an empty table and waited.

In a way, I was glad my first day was on a Friday. That way I'd be free to prepare myself over the weekend and know what to expect on Monday. Azusa promised never to make me work late—she made sure I'd have time for my studies.

The clock read 4:03 when she entered carrying two boxes. I wondered whether or not she came late on purpose. I knew better than to question it out loud.

Azusa walked briskly to where I was. "Take these and follow me."

I staggered under their weight. All I could do now was obey her orders. Maybe if I continued to do a good job, she wouldn't be scary anymore.

I was led toward the part of the library where only records and special, higher level books were stored. The man behind the counter started to protest the second he saw me.

Azusa merely pinched a corner of her glasses and said, "This is my employee."

The man fell silent and let us through. He didn't even ask her for identification. I wondered if her authority was born from natural leadership skills or if her glasses had special powers. Or maybe it was both.

She led me into the forbidden section and gave me my first assignment for the day. One box contained books she'd borrowed and the other had brand new books wrapped in plastic.

"All you have to do is put them back on the shelves alphabetically," she said.

When I was done she wanted me to bring the empty boxes to her office, where she'd meet with me later to give me another task. Then she left.

It all sounded so easy; I was almost eager to get started. I put the used books away first, taking care not to mix them up, even by a single letter. The place was a little dusty and cramped, but I didn't let it bother me.

Each book seemed more interesting than the last. _The Construction of Shibusen. History of Witches: Platinum Edition. Animals and Their Souls._

That last one really appealed to me, but I held my curiosity back. I wondered why Azusa had borrowed these. They didn't strike me as higher level material. I wondered what kind of information they held, if one-star students weren't allowed to read them. They looked harmless, but Maka _did_ always say to never judge a book by its cover.

After all the used books were put away, I ran into a problem. Was I supposed to remove the plastic wrapping from the new ones? Or did she want me to stack them just as they were?

I had to think about it carefully. If I got it wrong…

To me, unwrapping them would make the most sense. Books were made to be read, right?

After tearing off the plastic one by one, I swept my hand over each text's cover. It took all my inner strength to _not_ open them and flip through the untouched pages. They were so… new, so fresh. That's probably why they smelled so good, like ink and pine.

Once the final book was where it belonged, I double-checked _all_ the shelves. I had to make sure everything was perfect. Then, boxes of plastic sheets in hand, I made my way to my boss's office. I didn't have to wait long. Azusa returned and together we did what she called "spring cleaning."

She let me go after that, saying it'd be best to start slow. She gave me a preview of what I should expect to do next week: typing letters, delivering documents and packages, filing, cleaning, and more.

That night, I went to bed thinking it wasn't so bad after all. I truly believed I could do this.

* * *

><p><span>AN: WHY WON'T THEY KISS, DAMMIT!

*throws a rock at nobody*


	5. Car Wash

I loved my room.

When I first came to Shibusen, it was as a prisoner. The longer I stayed, the less it felt like a cell. The longer I stayed, the more it felt like home.

I grew attached to it. Maka never said so, but I could tell she didn't like me living here. She even went so far as to ask me to move in with her, Soul, and Blair. I turned her down.

"Then let's at least brighten the place up a bit."

So now my room included a small wardrobe, posters, a white circular rug that covered most of the floor, a little bookshelf, pictures, and a flowerpot that sat in the window. Maka had given me some seeds and made me promise to take good care of them.

_I can barely take care of myself. How am I supposed to make a flower grow? It'll die for sure._ I told her I'd never had a plant before, but I would try to look after it.

"Flowers have life in them, Chrona. All plants are alive, just like people. They need to be loved and nurtured, just like us."

I didn't want Maka's gift to die, so I made sure the seeds got plenty of sunlight and water. They still hadn't even begun to grow, but Maka said it'd take a long time. Plants also needed patience.

It was Saturday morning, and if I hadn't known better, I'd think I was just watering a pot of dirt. I wondered how tall the flowers would get and what color they'd be.

Even though outside was bright and sunny, I didn't feel like leaving my room that day. Instead, I stretched out on my bed with a book I hadn't read yet.

Not long after I finished the first chapter, a knock sounded at my door. I picked up my bookmark and placed it in the page where I left off, wondering why I had a visitor on a Saturday when it wasn't even noon yet. I opened the door and the tips of my mouth lifted up all by themselves because it was Maka.

She smiled back, but it immediately disappeared. She looked me up and down, up and down. Up. Down. Up.

She blinked. "You're still in your pajamas."

I blinked right back at her. "Is that strange?"

She was hardly able to hold back a laugh. She wore short pants that ended at the knees, a spaghetti-strap tank top, and sandals. A knapsack was slung over her shoulder. Eyes closed, she lightly pressed her fingertips together, held them in front of her chin, and bubbled out an explanation.

"We all got to talking yesterday, and we came up with a way to help raise money for Soul's bike. I know you want to do it on your own, but we thought—just this once, just for today—it'd be nice if we all did something together." Maka's eyes opened and poured into mine. "So how 'bout it? Will you come with us? Please?"

I wanted to answer her right away, but the breath had been mysteriously knocked out of me. I had no voice, so I just nodded dumbly.

She clapped her hands a little and waited for me to get ready. I followed her advice and dressed in clothes that I wouldn't mind getting messy. I wondered what we were going to do, but decided not to ask. I'd find out soon enough.

As soon as I stepped out, Maka held out her hand. I thought she'd grab my own, but all she did was wait. I understood. She wanted _me _to complete the gesture. I wrapped my fingers around hers.

Our friends were waiting for us at the bottom of the school steps. As we headed outside, I lagged behind. I was a little worried about what they'd think if they saw us holding hands. But I didn't want to let go. Unless Maka wanted to.

"C'mon, Chrona. Walk _with _me, okay?"

Maka. She always made sure to treat me like an equal. I stopped falling behind. We descended the stairs together, side by side.

It was scorchingly hot. Why did Shibusen need so many steps? I realized I might _have _to let go whether I liked it or not—already I could feel some moisture on my hand.

Was it mine or hers? Didn't she notice it, too? Wouldn't it be a good idea to let go?

As we neared the others, I could see them carrying bags, buckets, folding chairs, and towels, to name a few.

They looked up at us. I cringed. They saw us. They could see us hand in hand.

Maka suddenly grinned and raised our combined hands high in the air, as though she were showing off her most prized possession.

"I _knew _Chrona would say yes!" Tsubaki cheered.

I waved hello to everyone, doing my best to _not _hide behind Maka.

We started walking and I learned about their plan. We were going to have a car wash at a local gas station.

I knew I was supposed to be paying attention to the details, but something distracted me. Maka was still holding my hand.

Why?

There was no denying it now. Our hands were sweaty.

"Am I right, Chrona?"

"Huh? Wha…?"

Maka playfully scolded me. "Weren't you listening? We're trying to figure out what you can do. I said you could help me collect the money from the customers. Or you can help scrub and rinse the cars. But I think you'd want to stay clean and dry… Unless I'm wrong. What do you wanna do?"

I wanted to work with Maka. If I cleaned cars, then I might accidentally break something or get soap in my eyes or slip and fall and hurt myself.

Soul asked me how my first day as Azusa's assistant went. Did he really want to know or did he only ask because he really missed his motorcycle? Wait, that shouldn't matter. I'd made a choice. I had to see this through to the end.

The sun wasn't showing any mercy. I guessed it would be good for bringing in customers, but the heat was beginning to threaten my sanity.

Sweat was gross. It was slimy. It was wet and salty. Maka _had _to have noticed it by now. But she still held on.

I couldn't take it anymore. I loosened my grip.

Maka glanced down, then up at me. She finally let go and wiped her hand on her clothes. I did the same.

And then she took my hand and held it _again_.

At first I just stared, hardly daring to believe what I was seeing.

If anyone else had seen, they didn't seem to care.

Why was Maka doing this? Our hands were just going to get sweaty again, so why bother?

I didn't want to disappoint her, so I grasped back. When they got sweaty again, we wiped them off and held on again. I had to admit, it felt nice. Her fingers were smooth and her palm was soft. Her hand was strong. It made me feel safe.

After we arrived and set things up, business flooded in a lot sooner than I thought it would. Our car wash was held in the empty lot right beside the actual gas station. Liz and Patty's job was to stand at the entrance, hold up signs, and "attract customers," and apparently they were doing it really well. Not only did they wave the signs around, there was a whole song-and-dance routine to it that I suspected Kid had taught them. I was right; every now and then Kid would turn his head away from the car he was drying and yell for one or both of his partners to adjust their foot or lift their sign higher.

When a line started to form, I thought it was a good thing. I was impressed at how well we were doing, but it quickly turned into a sort of traffic jam.

"KID! STOP TRYING TO MAKE EVERYONE'S CAR SYMMETRICAL! YOU'RE HOLDIN' UP THE LINE!"

"Tell him to put my bumper sticker back!"

"PUT THAT BUMPER STICKER BACK!"

And soon the problem resolved itself.

In the meantime, I was happy with doing my part. Maka and I collected the money from the customers as they drove out. The exit was parallel to the entrance. The two weren't really that far apart. We sat at a little foldable table in little folding chairs and kept the earnings in a little cash box.

Maka smiled brightly at each customer and thanked them as she took the money and handed it to me. As I counted and occasionally passed back change, Maka offered them a candy bar that she got from her knapsack.

Maka was so friendly with everyone. No wonder they all seemed to like her.

"That was the last one," Maka told me as another customer drove away. "Good thing, though, since it's getting hotter. I wouldn't want any of them to melt." She rummaged through her bag and pulled out some sunscreen.

I watched as she rubbed it on her arms, face, and calves, then wondered if I was being rude. But if I turned my head away, she'd think I didn't want some, too.

Then she lifted her top and rubbed sunscreen on her tummy.

I looked away. Maybe getting sunburned wouldn't be so bad after all. It was supposed to hurt, but I'd never had one before, so maybe I could tough it out. Or maybe since I never got that much sun, it'd hurt even more than it was supposed to.

I felt something cold on my cheek and I jumped. Maka was holding a water bottle.

"Better drink this before it gets warm."

She gave it to me, along with the sunscreen. I was saved. She leaned back in her chair with another bottle of water for herself. She took a few gulps and closed her eyes. Her stomach was still exposed.

I tore my eyes away from her belly button and focused on myself. The lotion smelled like coconut. I wished it didn't—it made me want to taste it.

Once finished, I put it back in her knapsack and saw the other things she'd brought: snacks.

I looked at Maka and opened my mouth to ask if I could have some, but she was still leaning against her chair with her eyes closed. Her chest rose up and down in small, slow, rhythmic motions. Was she sleeping or just resting? She looked so peaceful.

I didn't want to disturb her. But I was hungry. My mouth started to water.

Would it be wrong to take something without asking? She brought them to share, right? But without her permission, it'd be stealing. Stealing was wrong. But she wouldn't mind, would she? If I asked for food, she'd say yes. Or would she get mad at me for not waiting for her answer first?

Maka stirred, just a tiny bit. Her lips were parted. Her hands were wrapped loosely around her water bottle.

My mind clouded.

Her belly button was so small.

What was that?

Something tiny and white.

It was poking out from… the rim of her pants?

It was…

I snapped.

I screamed.

The sack dropped to the ground.

I toppled out of my chair.

Maka woke, looking around in alarm.

She bent down and shook my shoulders, demanding to know what happened, what was wrong.

"I… I saw…"

_Hold on._ I couldn't just say, "I saw your p-panties!"

_Quick! Lie! Make something up! Hurry!_

I told her a lie.

"Everything okay?" Liz called.

"Yeah, we're fine! Chrona just saw a bee."

She believed me. That was good, but…

I couldn't believe I actually thought I was going to get away with it.

My back throbbed.

_He _wouldn't let me get away with it.

I hurriedly reached for my back, as if I had the power to block him.

"Liar!"

I tried to claw at his face, but he batted my hands away like nothing.

"Chrona lied to you, Maka!" he gleefully informed her. I continued to swipe and he continued to knock me aside. "You've been duped! Fooled! Tricked! Swindled! Deceived! Cheated! Scammed! Conned! Scandalized!"

I caught hold of his head and tried to push him back in, knowing it wouldn't work. At the very least, I'd hoped to muffle his voice.

No luck.

"Liar! Liar, liar, liar, liar! You're a no-good, filthy liar! You're really in for it now! Why don't you tell her what you reeeeeally saw?"

Maka cut in. "You mean… You _didn't _see a bee?"

She sounded hurt. I hurt her. Again.

I stopped pushing Ragnarok and lowered my arms.

I was sitting on my feet. I dug my fists into my lap.

She was hugging her knees, hiding half of her face behind them.

"What did you see?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, go on! Tell her!"

I bit my bottom lip. "Um… Nothing…"

"Yeah, I'll say it was nothing! Your boring plain old white panties sure aren't anything special!"

I felt all the blood drain from my face.

Maka threw a furious look in Ragnarok's direction before settling her soft eyes on me. "You screamed because… you saw my underwear?" She turned red and hugged herself tighter. "Wait, what were you—"

"Uh, I, uh, well—Uh, I was just glancing over by accident—"

"No you weren't!"

My hands shot back up. I managed to get a good grip on him this time. He wouldn't go back in, but I was finally able to muffle some of his speech.

He shouted something that sounded dangerously like, "You were undressing her with your eyes!"

I tried to drown him out with my own protests and accusations. We struggled loudly, calling each other names and doing as much physical damage as we could.

We didn't notice Maka telling us to stop until she grabbed our wrists and forcefully held them still. Both of us fell silent and unmoving. Her hands were cutting off our circulation.

She scooted closer, letting go of Ragnarok and slipping her fingers in between mine. She stared at me, her expression serious. I stared back.

"Please don't lie to me ever again."

Would it be lying to say I wouldn't? "…I'm sorry… But… What if it's e-e-embarrassing…"

"Don't you trust me?"

I nodded. I trusted Maka more than anyone else.

"Then don't lie, even if it's embarrassing. You can tell me anything, no matter what. Okay?"

I nodded, once. If only it were that easy. She made it seem like anything and everything could be easy.

"And as for _you_, Ragnarok…" She narrowed her eyes at my partner, who glared back just as stubbornly. "It's not nice to be a tattletale."

For a moment, he seemed to be speechless. It was hard to tell whether he was shocked or angry.

Then, quite calmly, he said, "If I could flip you off, I would."

Maka shook with rage, but changed her mood almost instantly. She took a quick, calming breath and stuck her nose in the air. "I guess _someone _doesn't want any snacks, then." She picked up her bag and stood up to sit back in her chair.

Ragnarok panicked and begged her to be reasonable. He didn't have to grovel long. Satisfied, Maka shared her food with us. I forgot how hungry I was.

We didn't have any more customers for a long time. Liz and Patty stopped singing. They sat on their own chairs to stretch their arms and legs. Kid, Soul, Black*Star, and Tsubaki were huddled together over in the center of the lot. I wondered what they were talking about.

Maka wiped sweat from her forehead. Ragnarok went back inside to escape the heat. I fanned myself.

A slight creak told me Maka had leaned back in her chair again. I looked before I could stop myself. Her hands were folded on top of her stomach. Her eyes were closed.

I reminded myself how rude it was to stare.

Sighing, I leaned against my chair and rubbed the back of my neck.

We sat in silence for so long that I started to drift off. But then I heard something.

It was Maka. She was humming.

Lying perfectly still, she hummed a tune that sounded so familiar. I listened closely. It was short, probably a children's song.

When it ended, I searched my memory for the title. Something about a river or…

Then I remembered. "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

Maka hummed the song again. Moving only her lips, she repeated it with words. She sang softly.

"Row, row, row your boat

"Gently down the stream.

"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

"Life is but a dream."

It got quiet again. I shifted in my seat. I waited for her to sing or hum some more, but she didn't. Instead, she spoke. Her eyes were still shut.

"Sing something, Chrona."

I raised my eyebrows.

She smiled and opened her eyes. She turned her head to look at me.

"I'd really like to hear you sing."

I swallowed. "Um… I'm not very good at it…"

"That's okay. Sing anyway. Sing me something."

She wasn't going to take no for an answer. I asked her what song I should sing.

"I dunno. Anything. The alphabet. That's an easy one. Sing the alphabet."

I clung to my arm. I checked to see if anyone was watching me. They weren't. Just Maka.

I breathed in and out.

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G…" My voice wavered a little bit. I stopped. Maka nodded eagerly. I went on.

"H, I, J, K, L-M-N-O-P…

"Q, R, S

"T, U, V

"W, X, Y and Z…

"Now I know my ABCs…

"Next time won't you sing with me?"

I waited for her to laugh at me, but she didn't. I thought I was terrible.

"That was wonderful," she said. "Now let's sing it together."

I decided to just go with it. We sang the alphabet, and I noticed my voice was a little stronger this time.

A car pulled up. The driver asked Liz and Patty something. After they answered, they let the car through and turned to us.

"Hey, you guys getting tired yet?" Liz called.

"IT'S HOT!" Patty shrieked.

We nodded. "Are you two ready to pack up?" Maka asked.

They nodded back and started walking to us, bringing the signs and chairs with them.

"This one's gonna be our last customer," Liz said.

We shared what was left of the snacks and water. After the car was cleaned, it made its way toward us. Liz wanted to handle the transaction on her own.

"Why don't you guys go tell the others that we're done? I got this."

"You just wanna flirt with the driver!" Patty accused.

"So? Didn't you see his _hair_? And that earring!"

"I'ma call you 'Mama' in front of him."

"C'mon," Maka whispered to me. She took my hand and we left the sisters to it.

There were two hoses. Soul was using one to wash his feet. Black*Star had the other. He was twirling it like a lasso. Tsubaki was drying her hair with a dark blue towel. Kid was the only one who didn't seem messy at all.

Maka told them we were ready to go home.

"What?-! Already?-!" Black*Star held the hose steady, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Why?-! I was just getting started!"

"Well… Chrona, Patty, Liz, and I are getting tired, and it's hot."

"…Hot? You guys are _hot_?"

"Yes."

Black*Star blinked.

Then he grinned.

Evilly.

Maka squeezed my hand, really tight.

"Oh, no… Black*Star… Don't—You wouldn't…" She took a hesitant step back.

Using both hands, he lifted the hose and pointed it at us. "Let me cool you off."

"CHRONA, RUN!"

Maka pulled me so suddenly I thought my arm would tear off. I almost tripped.

We ran. The young assassin chased. Tsubaki pleaded and apologized, wringing her hands. Water sprayed nonstop. Kid and Soul stared, their eyes reduced to specks.

We ran in a circle, the water getting closer. Black*Star cackled. We ran in squiggles and zigzags. Maka accidentally kicked a bucket over. I let her guide me. That way, the water would hit me first. I could shield her.

An idea flashed. We should run away, as far away as we could, until the hose couldn't reach us anymore.

I was about to tell her my plan when she screamed.

"Maka!"

Was she hurt? I wanted to ask what happened, but then I saw her face.

She was laughing.

She was screaming with delight.

So… We were only playing? Maka _wanted _to get wet?

I didn't really understand, but… At least Maka was happy. She was having fun. We weren't in any danger.

No sooner had I thought that than I noticed how slippery the asphalt was. I slowed down, forcing Maka to slow down too.

Big mistake.

Black*Star blasted us with a waterfall, showing no mercy. It was freezing. I thought I was drowning.

I fell on my back, hard, pulling Maka down with me.

"YAHOO!" The boy must've turned away, because the flood stopped. "NOBODY ESCAPES—"

A new scream interrupted him. It was Kid. "WATCH WHERE YOU POINT THAT DAMN THING! DO YOU KNOW HOW CAREFUL I'VE BEEN THIS WHOLE T—"

I knew chaos was happening, but I couldn't concentrate on it.

I made Maka fall, but I also cushioned it. She was on top of me, our stomachs touching.

"A-Are you okay?" she laughed above me.

"Uh—Uh-huh…" I felt dizzy.

She laughed even harder, clutching my shoulder. One of her tank top's straps slipped.

I gasped and turned my head.

Black*Star was being chased by a very angry Kid, now armed with the hose. Both were soaked.

Soul was—calmly—spraying Liz and Patty; both had content smiles on their faces. When did they get here? Where was…? Oh. All of our things were lying on the flattened folding table near them, safe from Soul's water.

Where was Tsubaki?

"Here you go."

She was holding out some towels for us.

Maka got up, fixing her shirt. She asked if I could stand.

I was a wet noodle.

I shook my head.

She bent down, grabbed my hands, and pulled me up. I practically fell on her. She helped me straighten up.

Tsubaki passed us a towel each and left to give some to Liz and Patty.

I rubbed it over my face first. It was big, soft, and fluffy. I dried my hair off last.

Maka finished and watched. She kept her towel wrapped around her.

"Don't wipe it like that… You have to kinda _scrub_ it…"

I hesitated, confused. I rubbed a little harder.

"Like this. Get it good and dry."

Maka tied her towel around her waist and placed her hands on my head. She told me to look down. I did, letting my arms fall to my sides.

Maka used my towel to scrub my hair super fast. My teeth rattled.

"There."

She pushed the cloth down so it would hang from my neck. She held on to both ends. I looked up.

She held her breath. Her eyes glazed over. She burst out laughing.

"W-What's so funny?"

"Your _hair_!"

Even though I couldn't see it, I knew it must've been a mess, like a cotton ball with bits of fluff sticking out everywhere.

Maka shook with laughter. I found myself smiling. I was glad to have made her laugh.

She sighed as her giggles faded away. She let go of my towel and ran her fingers through my hair, smoothing it.

I watched as her mouth shrank a little bit. The light in her eyes dimmed more and more with each stroke.

My smile vanished. My brow creased. Was something bothering her?

She moved a strand of hair behind my ear and stopped. Her hands slid down to my face.

I tried to stay calm.

She cupped my cheeks.

I told myself there was nothing to be afraid of.

She absorbed every detail of my face, scanning it, the green ovals dancing.

I waited.

She focused on a single spot, either my nose or lips or chin.

I relaxed and closed my eyes.

She brushed her thumbs across my lips.

"Hey, Chrona?"

"Hm?"

"I just noticed something."

My eyes popped open.

Maka sounded like she had something important to say.

Maka _looked _like she had something important to say.

Whatever Maka noticed, it was important.

And that scared me.

But I should listen first. Then see if I could deal with it.

Her hands went steady. She lowered her head and raised it again, her face burning with determination.

"I just realized… I've never seen you laugh before."

At first, I thought she was joking.

The grim expression told me otherwise. It refused to leave.

"The closest I've seen you laugh, it's usually small or… uncertain. I'd like to see you _really _laugh." Then she smiled mischievously. "You wouldn't happen to be ticklish… would you?"

I didn't answer. Luckily, Maka sensed my discomfort.

"Never mind, then. I already made you sing today. That's enough for me. Besides, I want it to be natural."

I let her pull my face closer until our foreheads touched. She smiled warmly.

I wanted to smile back, but I just couldn't. And that was okay.

I wanted to touch her hands or maybe her elbows and hold them, but I just couldn't. And that was okay, too.

"I won't force you to do anything anymore. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. But you need to tell me first—just lemme know if you're not okay with it. Can you do that?"

I thought about it. The good thing was, I'd never have to go through something like Twister ever again. I would be safe forever. The bad thing was, Maka would be disappointed even if she didn't show it. Maka liked it when I tried new things. But she also didn't want to push me.

I should compromise. If I really, really, _really_ couldn't deal with something, I'd speak up.

"Yes," I answered her.

She closed her eyes. "I'm glad."

For a split-second, her nose touched mine. Did I imagine it? I must have. Maybe. They were so close, separated only by a thin thread of air. Hers was small, cute. Not like mine at all.

Maka moved her forehead back and rested it on mine again—the gentlest, tiniest headbutt ever given.

"You _will_ show me your real laugh someday, won't you?"

"Yeah."

She nuzzled softly against my forehead to show her thanks. I knew she believed me because she trusted me to never lie again.


	6. Fired

"You're fired."

"Sir, please—it wasn't my fault this time; it was Ragnarok!"

"Who?"

"My weapon par—"

"You mean that thing that lives inside you?"

"Yes. Sir."

"Then as far as I'm concerned, _you _are responsible for him."

"But—"

"Turn in your uniform by tomorrow morning."

Mr. Lester walked away, and all I could think was, _What will Soul and Maka think?_

I was actually sad when Azusa said she didn't need me anymore. After all the hard work I did, she finally warmed up to me a little. She wasn't scary (unless she wanted to be), so I grew more and more comfortable with my job as her errand-runner. I wanted it to last much longer than it did. Whenever I completed a task, no matter how small, I always felt accomplished. It was good to know I had done something worthwhile.

On my last day working for her, Azusa spoke in a more friendly way, instead of the usual businesslike tone.

"Marie-senpai was right about you, Chrona," she said with a smile of approval. "My life's a lot more straightened out now."

With the money made from her and the car wash, I was nearly halfway there.

But I was now jobless.

Maka said to start looking through the newspaper.

"I'm sure Professor Stein will pay you to let him dissect you," said Black*Star.

Maka gave him a Maka-Chop.

"Or maybe you could go to that pizza place downtown. I think they're hiring," he tried again, rubbing his head.

Maka rewarded him with a nod and put her book away.

So I got my next job thanks to Black*Star. I knew this would be different. This time I wouldn't be working for a person, but a company.

Lester's Pizzeria had two positions available. One was for making the pizza and the other was for delivering it. I chose the latter, since I'd often made deliveries for Azusa.

The pizza had to reach the customer's address quickly. If I couldn't make it in under forty minutes, it was free. For that reason, they were nice enough to lend me a pair of roller skates.

It was also for that reason why Mr. Lester was so strict.

"You're allowed three mistakes," he told me, his thick brown mustache bristling. "Three and no more. Three strikes and you're out. Got that, Candy Cane?"

_Candy Cane?_

I bobbed my head up and down so fast that my neck cricked. "Yes, sir!"

To my amazement, my first day on this new job went well. Using the skates, I brought the pizza to the door within the time limit.

I had learned how to skate when Maka and the others took me to the Death City Roller Rink. I was a bit overwhelmed at first. The place was dim. And noisy. And crowded. It was a terrifying combination.

I spent half of our time there getting used to it all. I got a whiff of nachos and barbequed ribs everywhere I turned. Dance music boomed off the walls. Disco lights distracted me from keeping my balance.

"Need some help, Chrona?"

I stumbled.

Maka appeared behind me and supported my back to stop me from falling.

"Thank you…"

"No problem. You'll get the hang of it soon."

And she was right.

Even though I could skate, I was still disappointed at the end of the day. I wished I could do some of the tricks that the others did, like skate backwards.

But the basics were all I needed to deliver pizza.

In addition to the skates, they gave me a uniform to wear. Black hat, dark red shirt, black pants. Nice and simple.

And the customers gave me tips! It almost felt like I was cheating. But I reminded myself that extra money was good. It'd bring me closer to my goal much faster.

Maybe the only reason they tipped me so well was because I would stutter as soon as they opened the door. No matter how hard I tried to stop, it'd always be there to embarrass me. Maybe they felt bad for me. Or thought it was cute. Or funny.

One evening, after another successful delivery, I returned to the restaurant and found my friends over at a table. If it wasn't for Mr. Lester's picky rules, I would've been able to get them free pizza and drinks. Kid offered to pay instead.

I sat in the empty chair next to Patty and across from Maka. Everyone favored a different kind of pizza, so we ordered one that nobody had a problem with: pepperoni and sausage.

Ragnarok was more than happy to tell stories as we waited.

"This one dude had a mole on his chin the size of Black*Star's ego—!"

"We barely escaped the jaws of this freakin' huge pit bull—"

"And when that bitch only gave Chrona a two percent tip, I popped out and gave her a piece of my mind! Then she practically emptied out her purse! I scared the shit outta her!"

When our food arrived, everyone cheered and made a grab for the nearest slice.

"Wait, wait, wait, _WAIT_!" Maka screamed, whipping out a book and smacking hands out of the way.

Once she had our attention, she lowered her arm and said, "I think Chrona should have the first pick."

Everyone but Ragnarok, Patty, and Black*Star agreed.

I smiled nervously. Now they would all watch me. I looked at my plate, then at the pizza. Steam rose from it steadily, twirling like a ballerina.

Some slices were bigger than the others. Some had more cheese or more pepperoni or more sausage.

But the one that caught my eye was average. Well, at first sight it seemed average. But as I looked closer, I saw how special it was. The crust was a perfect golden brown. It looked crunchy on the outside, but inside I knew it was soft and chewy. It oozed with rich, gooey cheese. It only had a small number of toppings, but each one of them drowned in its own juice.

My decision was made.

I reached out and carefully separated it from its comrades. I balanced it on my fingers as tenderly as possible. As I drew back, I checked to see if the others were following my every move. They were.

They were either waiting patiently or impatiently.

When my eyes locked with Maka's, I felt my throat go dry.

Her frowning lips were trembling. She looked disappointed and her eyes were shiny, as if she were about to cry.

But it was only for a moment. As soon as I noticed it, it was gone and replaced with a patient smile. A small smile. A fake smile.

I stopped.

I stared at my slice.

I changed direction.

I set it down on Maka's plate.

Now it was her slice.

"Chrona?"

"I want you to have this," I mumbled, looking at my knees.

Silence.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded and stretched out my hand to pull out a random slice of pizza.

Tsubaki made a sweet little "awwww" sound while her partner pretended to gag. I pretended not to hear.

Once I had my food, everyone helped themselves. I peered up at Maka just in time to see her take the first bite. She chewed slowly, her eyes closed, savoring the taste. She swallowed and licked at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes glimmered.

I was relieved. She was happy. She liked it.

Ragnarok pulled on my hair and hissed into my ear. "It ain't healthy to be so fucking noble all the time."

I didn't care. Maka would always come first.

It was after that night that I made my first mistake.

A customer got a free meal.

I was fifteen minutes late.

Usually I had a good sense of direction. But I ended up desperately lost when I made a wrong turn. The street I took and the street I was supposed to take differed by one letter.

Downtown was a lot harder to navigate than Shibusen.

I was shaken up. Two more strikes and it'd be over.

I learned the hard way that worrying about failure only increased the chances of it happening.

The day after my first mistake, I tripped on the way to a customer who lived close by. The box flew out of my hands. I wasn't hurt, but my clothes were dirty and the pizza was ruined. I managed to go back, get another, and finish the delivery on time, but it didn't matter. Dropping the merchandise counted as a mistake.

Strike two.

I had to calm down. Being frantic wasn't helping.

I missed my old boss. Mr. Lester was nothing like her. I didn't like his mustache. I didn't like the way he called me Candy Cane.

I didn't like this job. The skating part was mostly easy, but it was a nightmare the second I knocked on the door or rang the doorbell. People were scary. _Strangers_ were scary.

I was getting sick of seeing pizza every day.

Then I remembered why I put up with it all. I saw Maka's face. She was counting on me.

I spent the next few days accident-free. It would all be worth it in the end. I had to keep my mind on track. I had to keep my promise. I'd come this far—no use in giving up.

On that fateful day, I had to stop somewhere and sit down. But I couldn't. There were no benches in sight. I didn't want to sit on the ground.

"Ragnarok," I called.

He emerged and said, "You're lost, aren't you?"

"Hold this for me, please." I handed him the pizza box so I could search my pockets.

Standing on skates made me sway a little. I pulled out a map and unfolded it.

My eyes scanned over every detail. Was I heading the right way? I didn't make a wrong turn again, did I?

I took my time outlining a path that was quick and straightforward. I took my time memorizing it.

Once I was ready, I stuffed the map back where it belonged and grabbed the box from Ragnarok's hands with a hurried "thank you very much." I zipped through the empty streets, grateful that the sun hadn't completely set yet. I was going so fast I worried my hat would fly away.

I didn't have time to wonder if I would trip like last time. I just needed to _keep moving_.

If I wasn't in such a rush, I would've admired the way the air soared around me. It felt like I was gliding without wings.

I slowed down when I found the house. A young woman answered when I rang the doorbell.

"H-H-H-Here's your p-pizza, m-m-ma'am."

She thanked me, but frowned when she took the box. "Oh, it's light."

Light? Why would it be light? I hadn't noticed it was light. Not when I left. What happened between then and now?

Oh, no.

"Ragnarok!" I growled.

"Whaaaaaaaat?" He slinked his head over my shoulder. The woman gasped but said nothing.

"Did you d-d-do s-something? To the p-pizza?"

"No! What do you take me for?" He straightened himself up and put his fists to his sides. "Alright, maybe I had _one_, maybe two bites. But that's all."

I got ready to scold him, but the woman interrupted.

"This box is empty."

And so it was.

My face paled. Anger and fear hit me all at once. I didn't know how to deal with it.

Before I knew it, words of apology were tumbling out of my mouth.

The woman wasn't mad. She said it was okay; it was her husband who wanted pizza, anyway. _She _wanted to cook for him that night.

I didn't know if she was making it up.

"Here. For your trouble."

She was holding out some money—a tip. Why? _I _troubled _her_, not the other way around!

I couldn't take it, so Ragnarok did it for me. Apparently, he was incapable of feeling shame.

And that was it. Strike three.


	7. Mascot

Maka lay on my bed, stretched out on her back, flipping through a newspaper.

I lay on my room's soft, white, fluffy rug, looking through a different newspaper.

A flood of sunlight streamed in, more than usual, which was probably why Maka went over to the window as soon as we came in.

"They haven't sprouted yet," I'd said.

Maka continued to stare into the pot. "They will," she'd said, but I couldn't tell whether she was assuring me or herself.

We were searching for my next job, since I knew I couldn't hide my dismissal from the pizza place for long.

Every now and then, I'd catch Maka staring at me with narrowed eyes. If I hadn't known better, I would've thought she was angry with me; I would've thought she blamed me for losing my job. But that wasn't it. She wasn't really glaring at me.

When I had told her about my third mistake, she cracked her knuckles and said very loudly and clearly, "I _dare _Ragnarok to show his face around me again."

He still hadn't risen to the challenge. I wondered if he was afraid or just biding his time.

Maka glanced at me again, as though willing Ragnarok to come out so she could thrash him. I wanted him to stay in. I wasn't looking forward to being caught in the middle of the battle.

I examined the want ads one by one. So far, my earnings had amounted to just a little over three-fourths of what I needed. It was comforting to know my next job would most likely be my last.

The letters on the page ran into each other. I kept reading the same ad over and over. It was hard to concentrate because I couldn't stop worrying about who I'd be working for. Would they be nice or mean? Would they forgive me when I messed up?

"How about this?" Maka sat up and folded her newspaper into a neat square. "The candy store at the mall is having a sale on French chocolate truffles. They're looking for a mascot." A dreamy smile slowly spread across her face. It scared me. "Doesn't that sound like fun?"

I couldn't tell the truth, but I couldn't lie, either.

I answered her question with a question.

"W-What does a mascot d-do?"

"Advertise, basically. Wave and get people's attention and inform them about the product. They even dance around sometimes."

In front of total strangers? I'd never heard of a job so… humiliating! My very soul quivered at the thought of putting myself on display like that.

Maka saw the look on my face and went on to explain that mall mascots wore suits that covered them from head to toe.

"They're dressed up as animals or cartoon characters. That's why I thought it'd be a really cute thing for you to do. And it's easy, too. But if you don't think it's right for you, then I'll keep looking…"

_Cute…?_

I stood on my feet, unsteadily, and climbed onto the bed. Crawling next to Maka, I asked if I could see the ad. She pointed to where it was.

The sale would last two weeks. I should reach my goal by then, maybe even go beyond it.

But nothing was said about what the costume would look like. The bottom line gave the shop's address.

"I… I want to know more… before I decide."

"Do you wanna go and ask them?"

"Y-Yes… Um, w-will you… come with me?"

"Of course."

-xoxo-

As soon as we walked in, it was too much. The air was heavily scented with chocolate, bubble gum, cinnamon, and a million other stuff. Taffy, fudge, licorice, jawbreakers, and caramel bonbons sat undisturbed behind a wall of glass. And that was only one section. It was hard to look away. There was so much to take in.

"Are we in heaven?" Ragnarok asked, taking a chance to show himself. His eyes swept across the room and rested on Maka standing right beside us.

She stared at him in a way that reminded me of a lioness hunting her prey.

"Oh, yeah. The she-pig's here. Never mind, then—we must be in hell."

_THWACK!_

Having brought the newspaper with her, Maka rolled it up and was now using it as a weapon.

She'd missed.

I didn't have time to rub my sore cheek because the onslaught was just beginning.

"Hold—still—you—!"

"I—can't—believe—you'd—attack—me—in—such—a—_FRAGILE_—place—like—!"

In between all the yelling, I tried to get them to stop but it was impossible.

"It's—all—your—fault—Chrona—lost—that—job—at—!"

"Is—this—any—way—to—make—a—good—first—impression—huh—cow?-!"

The sound of someone clearing their throat made us all freeze.

A woman with her hair pulled back in a low ponytail raised her eyebrows at us. She stood behind the counter at the other end of the store, her face hovering between confusion and apprehension.

"Can I help you?"

"Told ya!" Ragnarok whispered. "If Chrona isn't hired, it'll be _your _fault this time!"

Maka swung the paper once more, but her target had already sought shelter.

We approached the clerk, and as soon as Maka explained why we were there, she seemed convinced that we weren't lunatics.

It turned out I _wouldn't _have to do a dance after all. Instead, I'd have to hand out free samples of the truffles.

Then there was the costume itself. A French poodle with big brown eyes, complete with a tail, a violet beret dotted with tiny black stars, and a matching shirt.

The woman wanted me to try it on, so I followed her behind a door marked "Employees Only." She asked me questions like how tall I was and whether or not I was okay with standing in the same spot for long periods of time. She left me alone in the little room and urged me to let her know if anything—especially the gloves—was too loose or too tight.

I looked at myself in the floor-length mirror. No one would be able to tell who was inside.

"Do you want to show your friend?"

I watched the giant poodle nod its head. Maybe being a mascot wouldn't be so embarrassing after all.

Maka stepped inside and practically skipped her way over, already showering me with compliments. She circled me once and reached up to play with the ears.

"I knew it. This is _way _cuter than your pizza delivery uniform."

The inside of the suit grew warm, but not in the sticky-sweaty-I-can't-handle-this way. It felt toasty.

Cozy.

Maka took my hand—paw—and stroked it, admiring the fuzzy material. I frowned. Even though I was standing right with her, it was like I wasn't really there. She was holding my hand, but at the same time, she wasn't. I couldn't feel her touch, and it bothered me.

She stopped petting the fake fur and raised her eyes to my face, which she couldn't see. For once, my expression was unreadable to her. It was completely hidden. I was invisible.

Blissfully unaware of my mild discomfort, she let go of the glove and leaned in. Her head rested against the purple shirt, her arms slinking around the middle. She gave a contented sigh.

I froze. She was hugging me.

And I couldn't feel it.

What surprised me the most wasn't the fact that I couldn't feel Maka's hug. It was the fact that I _wanted _to feel it.

Before, it would've been enough just to be in the same room as her. What happened? Why did I want _more _than "just enough"? I was being selfish again, wasn't I?

The truth was, I didn't know how to stop. The problem was, I didn't _want _to stop. Being greedy was wrong, but I couldn't help it.

And now we were separated by a wall of fabric. Maybe if I concentrated hard, I'd be able to pretend the suit wasn't so troublesome. Sure, it wasn't the same as when we hugged in the oasis, but still. A hug from Maka was a hug from Maka. Nothing could make it any less meaningful.

"I feel like a kid again." She said it quietly, even though no one else was around. The clerk had gone to help a customer.

The sound of her voice made me realize my arms were hanging limply at my sides. She closed her eyes and I wondered if she was remembering something from when she was little. If that was it, then maybe it would be better not to hug her back. The reason she was so close and relaxed was because of the costume, not because of me.

I waited for her moment of nostalgia to finish. When she opened her eyes, I said her name.

"It talks," she teased, turning her head upward. "Yes?"

I asked her not to tell anyone about this. Except for Soul, but only if he asked. And if he did, she should only tell him I was working at the mall. She seemed disappointed, but agreed with a solemn nod. She didn't question why.

Before we left the shop, the woman said I should always bring a change of clothes throughout the two-week sale. Oh, good. More sweat.

-xoxo-

The first day went slowly. I kept expecting someone I knew to show up and see through my disguise. I had to remind myself over and over that it was impossible for anybody to recognize me.

I thought about why I wanted my identity to be secret, because I wasn't so sure myself. It had nothing to do with the costume, because Maka said it looked cute. Maybe it was something about that word… "mascot." It was a mask for me to wear and hide under. Everybody could see me, but they couldn't see _me_. There was something powerful and frightening about that.

Each day, I stood in front of the candy shop with a silver dish of chocolates and waved. Lots and lots and lots of waving. I couldn't stop unless someone approached to take a sample. I didn't dare switch hands whenever my wrist hurt because of the very likely chance I'd drop the plate.

Thanks to the suit, Ragnarok had no way of distracting me whenever he felt like it. It became my personal goal to make it through the weeks without making a single mistake. I liked how easy this job was, but didn't like how tiring and repetitive it was hour after hour. Luckily, the shop would be closed on Sundays.

During my third day of work, I received an unpleasant surprise. As I casually watched people walking by the row of stores on the other side, one pair caught my eye.

I stopped in mid-wave.

Liz and Patty, though on the other side, were headed my way.

The dish trembled, so I had to force my hand to steady. I pretended not to see them, since there really was no way they'd know it was me.

Unless Maka told them.

But that couldn't be it. They were probably just shopping for makeup and jewelry or something. That wasn't unusual. Maka would never lie or break a promise.

Patty let out a squeal of delight and tugged on her sister's arm as they drew near. She pointed to the banner hanging from the candy shop's sign above my head.

"Lookit, the candy store's having a sale! Oh, lookit—that doggy's giving out free samples!" She bounced rapidly from one foot to the other.

I wanted to wipe my forehead in relief. My identity was safe. For the moment.

Liz frowned and went on walking. "_No_, Patty, we aren't here for sweets. We're here for _shoes_, remember? Besides, you're hyper enough as it is. You don't need any sugar right now."

The younger sister pouted but faithfully continued on past until both were out of my sight.

_That was close._

But, two days later, it happened again. Two people I knew appeared out of nowhere, right in front of me.

If they hadn't snuck up on me like that, I might've been able to keep a clear mind and send them on their way without any trouble. Instead, as soon as I saw their faces, I did two things that gave me away completely.

First, a shaky, high-pitched whimper escaped my lips before I could stop myself. The suit did nothing to muffle my voice.

Second, almost at the same time, I clutched the arm holding the dish to keep it from quivering. That was when I realized it was too late. I had dug my own grave.

"Chrona? Is that you?" Jacqueline asked while her partner arched an eyebrow.

"N-N-NO!" I stupidly answered. Another dead giveaway.

"Oh, yes it is!" Kim insisted with a wicked grin. She moved forward and stretched out her hand, threatening to rip off the costume's head if I didn't admit it.

I surrendered immediately, begging for mercy. She backed off, assuring me she was only playing, but I had no idea if I should believe her.

They each took a French chocolate truffle and wanted to know how I ended up here. I told them, starting with the motorcycle accident and ending with Maka finding the ad for a mascot.

Kim looked like she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "You're helping them even though _they _didn't see _you_?"

I wanted to tell her, "I didn't see them, either," but Jacqueline spoke up before I could.

"That's so nice of you. Isn't it, Kim?"

The meister glanced at her before staring at me as though the suit wasn't there. Then she sighed.

"You remind me of Ox," she said, shaking her head piteously.

I was like Ox? I didn't know much about him, except that he was very smart—almost as smart as Maka. Kim must've been referring to the niceness, because I also knew that Ox was a generally nice guy, especially towards her. Ox had a crush on Kim. Or maybe he was in love with her. I wasn't sure.

But then, why was Kim unhappy? Wouldn't being compared to him be a good thing? Why would she treat kindness like it was something to feel sorry for?

I wanted to know, so I said, "How?"

Kim's eyes widened as if she had meant to keep her thoughts to herself. "Never mind. It's nothing." She and Jacqueline started to leave. "Thanks for the candy. We'll see you later."

"Good luck, Chrona."

I watched them go and remembered something.

Kim was a witch.

And even though she was a witch, Ox still liked her. He wasn't mad at her for keeping secrets. I wondered how it was for him when he first found out. How shocked was he? How did he get over it?

It made me think about Maka. Even though I'd done terrible things, she still wanted to be my friend. Why was she so forgiving?

I couldn't concentrate on my job anymore. I barely noticed when the dish ran out of chocolates. When I went to get more, I almost bumped into a wall.

I couldn't stop thinking about Maka. I wondered if it was her soul—the soul of an angel—that made her so compassionate. Or maybe there was more to it.

As I thought and thought, a familiar sensation crept into the pit of my stomach. It was dense and fuzzy. It was pleasing and discomforting at the same time. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't know whether to welcome it or be afraid of it. Sometimes I'd feel it in my chest or head, but it usually only showed up whenever Maka was really close to me.

Maka wasn't here, but somehow she could still affect me this much. I wondered where she was and what she was doing. I wondered when I'd get to see her again. Probably tomorrow.

Even though I'd known her for a while, there were still a lot of things I didn't know about her. Maka considered us close friends, so I needed to find out as much as I could. I would ask her what her favorite color was. I wanted to know what her favorite food was. Her favorite book, her favorite writer. What were the things that bugged her? What was her favorite animal?

I came up with a lot of questions, so I decided to learn the answers to only a few at first and commit them to memory. The more I knew, the better.

If she wanted to know why I was asking her such random things, I would give her the truth. She said I could tell her anything.

Even though it'd be awkward to say, I would tell her, "Because I'd like it if I was closer to you."


	8. Temptation

It was Sunday. The candy shop was closed. The sale would last for one more week. I counted up all the money I'd saved and realized I'd have enough if I worked one more day.

I did it.

Well, almost, but still. By the end of the week, I'd have more than enough! I really did it! Almost.

Maybe if I hadn't checked my savings, I wouldn't have done what I did later that day.

I had plans for that evening. Liz's favorite boutique was having a one-day-only sale, so she asked Maka to be her personal financial advisor. That meant she wanted Maka to keep her from buying too much. In return, Liz would treat her to dinner. Maka agreed, then immediately invited me to go with them.

Ever since that time we shared dessert in the cafeteria, Maka made a habit of asking me out to eat, whether it was for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I suspected that she was bothered by the fact that I usually ate alone. But I already told her I didn't mind. She insisted anyway. I could've said no, but then I'd miss out on spending time with her. They were good opportunities to get to know her more so that I could really call myself her close friend. Plus, sometimes she invited me to her apartment, and she was a great cook.

Maka was happy to answer my questions. When she asked about my sudden curiosity, I told her the truth. But it was a little embarrassing, so I kind of mumbled it. Maka leaned in to hear better.

"B-Because… I'd l-l-like it if I was… closer to you."

She smiled and nodded gently. "In that case, I'd like to know some things, too."

She started asking me some of the same questions I'd asked her. Nearly all of my responses took a while to come up with. I'd never really thought about what my favorite book or candy was. Maka seemed to enjoy waiting for my answers. If I was stuck, she made suggestions. I wanted to apologize for being so boring. I wasn't a very interesting person.

Liz, following Maka's advice, planned on taking us to a fast-food restaurant after shopping, in order to keep it cheap. The boutique, though, wasn't cheap at all. Even the lighting seemed expensive. And even though there was a sale, the prices were still high.

We followed her around until she was ready to try on some of the clothes in the fitting rooms. I drifted off toward where the hats were kept.

"What _is _it with that girl and shopping?" Ragnarok demanded as I picked up a beret that reminded me of the one my mascot suit had. "She's taking for-fucking-_ever_! I'm starving!"

"Wait just a little longer." I put the cap back.

"Easy for you to say." He crossed his arms.

"Think of it this way," I said, heading back to the dressing rooms. "The more you wait, the better it'll be when… you… finally…"

My voice trailed off. I slowed to a halt. There, next to the rooms, stood Maka, looking up at a faceless mannequin modeling an outfit.

She was beaming.

I watched as she lifted herself on tiptoe and pinched some of the clothes' material, rubbing it between her fingers.

Ragnarok jabbed me in the back of my neck, urging me forward.

Maka checked the price tag and her face fell. She quickly dropped it when I walked up to her. She flashed me a smile that I knew was fake. Before either of us could say anything, we heard Liz calling for help.

"Makaaaaaaaaaa… Could you come here and tell me if my butt looks big in these?"

"Yes! It does!" Ragnarok cut in before Maka could move. We could only see Liz's head peeking around the corner, and she didn't seem too happy. "I can see it from over here! It's gigantic! And gross!"

"Hey, why don't you shut up?-!" Liz yelled, her face red.

"Hey, why don't you hurry the hell up so we can get some food?-! I'm hungry!"

"Well that's too bad! Just for that, I'm going to take even longer now!"

"Bitch!"

"Asshole!"

"STOP IT ALREADY!" Maka and I screamed. We looked at each other in shock as the two weapons glared at one another.

Both of us were standing the exact same way, our hands balled into fists. Maka blushed, looking scared, and hurried over to Liz. Before she disappeared, she gave me a long glance. Her face was still pink but now she seemed puzzled instead of scared.

I changed my mind. I wasn't going to ask Ragnarok if he'd been trying to get us kicked out. The answer could've been yes just as easily as no, and I didn't want to find out.

I turned my head toward the mannequin to examine the outfit that had hypnotized Maka. The top was artfully torn along the sleeves and across the bottom. It had a little image of a heart with angel wings sprouting from it. The skirt was short, made of denim, and paired with tight black leggings.

I reached for the price tag.

Ragnarok uttered my thoughts. "You can afford it."

I bit my lip. "I shouldn't. That money's for Soul's bike…"

"It's not like you're spending all of it! Just use the rest of this week to fill the gap! It's _your _money, isn't it? _You're_ the one who earned it. _You're _the one who worked so hard for it. Shouldn't you be allowed to do whatever you want with it?"

But even so… I didn't know Maka's size.

But I could find out. During dinner. I could sneak it into my list of questions.

I dropped the tag and looked the outfit up and down. The heavenly heart rested right where the statue's soul would be if it had one. I hesitantly stretched out my arm and felt all three pieces one at a time. The leggings were my favorite, but the mannequin was so rigid.

"I know who you're fantasizing about right now!" Ragnarok announced.

I pulled my hand away as if it had been burned. I ignored the storm of noogies that instantly followed, but couldn't ignore the words that came with it.

"Imagine the look on her face when you get it for her! Picture what she'll look like wearing it! Think about the things she'll say!" He changed his voice to sound even squeakier than it already was. "_Oh_, _Chrona_! _You shouldn't have_!"

Then he grabbed my cheeks and speedily shook my head back and forth. "DOESN'T THAT SHIT MAKE YOU WANNA PUKE A FUCKING RAINBOW?-!"

"_WHAT_?-! Ow, shtop it! I gewit, I gewit! Alwight, I'll do wit!"

He finally stopped, but not before a good number of weird stares flew our way.

"What's _wrong _with you? Do you always have to be so embarrassing in public?"

"I'm dying of hunger here!" he whined.

I wanted to get down on my knees and worship Liz when she finally went to pay for her new clothes. As we left the shop, I checked one of the signs in the window, the one that said when it would close. I would have plenty of time later to get the money and come back on my own. It'd be a surprise gift for Maka. I couldn't help smiling all throughout dinner.

I even smiled when Maka walked me to the academy steps and said, "See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Maka."

"You've been looking like that ever since we left the boutique."

"Like what?"

"Like you're just gonna burst out laughing." Maka cocked her head to one side. "Did something funny happen?"

"No, I just… like hanging out with you."

Her eyes softened. She moved closer and brushed a few of my bangs aside. "Me too."

I reached up and pressed her hand against the side of my face. I closed my eyes. I'd missed this.

I held her hand there, wanting it to leave a permanent mark. I'd missed her touch. It was the only kind I wanted—the kind I could actually feel. Stupid costume. I didn't care how cute it was; it was a pain.

Maka cupped her hand. She adjusted her palm to fit with my cheek and chin. Her fingers stroked the back of my ear.

That dense and fuzzy sensation crept into my chest.

I wished I could stand there and fall asleep. I wished time would freeze. I wished for Maka to feel exactly how I was feeling.

It was strange. I thought I'd be sad when we let go, but I wasn't. Just the opposite. It was as if nothing in the world could bring me down.

As she turned and waved goodbye, Maka said, "I really like seeing you happy."

When she was a good distance away, I put my hand to my lips. I was still smiling.

I raced up the stairs, really enjoying the cool evening air as it glided around me.

-xoxo-

I could barely sleep that night. The white cardboard box was safely tucked under my bed. The outfit lay neatly inside. Tomorrow I would give it to Maka, after class, before work.

The first thing I did when I woke up was check to see if it was still there. It was. I hadn't dreamt it. It was real.

I left it under my bed and hoped it'd still be there when I returned.

I walked to class with a sort of bounce in my step. I wondered if this was how Patty felt all the time.

I opened the door and my eyes immediately found her. My closest, most cherished friend. Maka. She sat, as usual, in the middle row next to Soul, who was talking to Black*Star one row in front. She wore the usual tie, vest, and long-sleeved shirt, her hair in the usual pigtails, her leafy green eyes studying a sheet of paper.

Before I could set one foot inside, someone called my name. I turned around and saw Azusa hurrying up to me. Panting slightly, she asked if I wouldn't mind helping her with a few urgent things.

"I know this is so last minute, but I could really use your help again. I'll pull you out of class just for today."

I nodded eagerly. Not only would this be a good way to thank her for giving me my first job, but also to relive those days when I worked for one person, not a company. Azusa was easier to deal with; she was more flexible and understanding. I gladly answered yes and insisted she didn't have to pay me.

"But…" I added, "Hang on one sec—just one sec—"

I dashed into the classroom and up the steps to the middle row.

"Good morning, Chro—" Maka couldn't finish her greeting. It ended in a surprised gasp.

As soon as I was near enough, my hands met hers. I leaned down and pushed myself against her, pressing one side of my face to that of her own.

Her fingers gripped around mine, but other than that, she didn't move.

I didn't care who was watching or listening. At the moment, my only concern was whether my sudden actions were freaking her out. I could feel her breath on my neck. It was a little heavy, but still normal. She was okay with this.

I knew I didn't have much time. As much as I wanted to hug her, I resisted. As much as I wanted to place my forehead on hers, I resisted. As much as I wanted to see if her heartbeat was pounding the same way mine was, I resisted.

I slid my mouth right next to her ear. "I have something to show you," I whispered, "after school."

"Where?" she whispered back. I didn't know why we were whispering. I didn't think she knew either.

"The balcony."

Maka shifted, tilting her head up a bit and squeezing my hands tighter. I dared to believe she was thinking the same thing I was. We hadn't been there in a while. It was one of my favorite places to be, partly because it had a beautiful view and partly because Maka liked talking to me there, just the two of us.

She said, "Okay."

I kept my feet planted down. I wanted to stay for as long as I could and not a moment less. Pulling my head back, I watched my hands bring hers together. She folded them as though in prayer. I covered them.

Maka looked up at me. My smile grew because she had no idea why I was so happy. For now, it was a secret only I knew about. Soon I could share it with her.

Straightening up, I pulled our hands level to my chin. Maka made as if to stand, so I pushed them back to make her stay. When she raised a questioning eyebrow, I reassuringly patted her hands before letting them go. If I stalled any longer, I might not have ever been able to leave.

When Azusa asked me about my good mood, I proudly told her it was a secret.

After she let me go, I raced back to my room to get the box. Good, it was still there. On the way out, I stopped and looked at my mirror. I fixed my hair so that the top lay nice and flat. I smoothed out all the wrinkles in my dress and made sure my cuffs were nice and even.

I stared at my reflection. Before that moment, I'd never really cared that much about the way I looked. I wondered if this was how Kid felt all the time.

In order to keep myself neat and tidy, I couldn't run to the balcony. I had to walk. But I wanted to hurry. I wasn't worried that Maka would get impatient—I knew she'd wait for me. I was worried that _my _patience would run out.

It took every ounce of self-control I had to _walk, not run_ when I saw her sitting on the ledge. My spine tingled as I drew closer. This was it.

Maka had her head down, probably gazing at all the buildings below. I slowed down to keep my footsteps quiet even though it was likely that she already knew I was there. I hid the present behind my back, but she didn't turn around. I moved quietly, until I was right beside her. Before she could turn her head or speak, I asked her to close her eyes. She did.

"What's gotten into you today?"

"It's a surprise."

I sat down and took the surprise out from behind me. I lifted the top half just a little to see if the clothes were still inside. They were. I shut the lid and looked at Maka.

Judging from the way she was smiling and the barely noticeable twisting of her hands in her lap, it would seem fair to say she was excited. Or, at the very least, curious. Either way, it would be cruel to keep her waiting any longer.

"You can open them now."

It wasn't like I imagined. When she saw me holding the box out for her, she didn't gasp in delight or praise me for being so thoughtful. She made no noise at all. She simply stared before wordlessly reaching for it. But the small, sincere smile still clung to her face.

She pulled the white rectangular box into her lap and ran a hand over its smooth cardboard surface.

"A present?" she asked, looking up at me.

I nodded sheepishly, raising one arm to grip the other.

My friend focused on her gift, tracing her fingers along the edge. She observed it like it was a mildly interesting novel.

My smile was on the verge of turning into a nervous one.

Maka brushed a pigtail behind her ear before opening it. For a moment, everything was silent except for a few birds chirping in the distance. The outfit lay in plain sight, drowning in sunlight. I held my breath.

Her smile was fake now. I clutched my arm harder. Didn't she like it? I was positive I bought the right one. It was the one she wanted, right? Maka's smile changed again. It was a sad smile. Maybe she's touched?

"Chrona…" She reached out to take my empty hand. She didn't hold it firmly—she was barely holding it at all. Her fingers were much too light and hesitant, as though I were a stranger. Her eyes wouldn't look up.

"Did you steal this?" she asked gently.

I panicked. "N-N-No!"

Maka let go of my hand and sat up straight, waiting for an explanation. She stared blankly, as though she were looking right through me.

I rubbed my arm, wishing I could shrink and shrink until nothing was left. I spoke to the outfit. Maybe knowing the truth would make her smile for real again.

I told her that I used the money meant for Soul's bike, quickly adding that I could still earn enough by the end of the week.

"Are you sure?"

"Y-Yes… I think…"

Maka closed her eyes. Her hands were rolled up into tight fists.

I was pretty sure it would be a bad idea to ask what she was thinking about. The way she was sitting so stiffly made me think she was fighting something back. Was she going to yell at me? Was she mad at me? I could feel the atmosphere between us changing, and I didn't like it one bit. It was as if storm clouds were gathering. Why couldn't she be happy with her present? This wasn't turning out like I'd hoped.

Maka sighed and opened her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, closing the box. "I can't accept—You shouldn't have done this." She shoved it into my hands. Her voice was as determined as her face. "Take it back."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than something else she'd said before came rushing into my head.

"No… I got this for _you_, Maka. It's yours. I saw how much you liked it, so…"

I held it out for her, but she pushed it back.

"I don't want it anymore—Take it back!"

"But, but you said it before, right? You said you wouldn't force me to do anything I didn't want to."

"Well, no one forced you to spend that money on me!"

"Ragnarok k-kinda did…"

"Ragnarok didn't actually _make _you pay for these, did he? All _he _can do is talk. You didn't _have _to listen to him. What were you thinking?" Maka lowered her head and her shoulders shook with either anger or sadness. Or maybe both. "…I won't force you, but I will ask you. Please, take it back."

I was more than willing to surrender if I could. I didn't understand exactly why she was upset, but I could see that I was hurting her, so I needed to stop. I had to give up and do whatever Maka wanted. I tried to do something nice, but it was a mistake. I failed. Again. Why did I keep messing up?

All I wanted was to be a good friend. If I couldn't even be that, then what good was I? My arms wrapped tightly around the white box because I needed something to hug. I didn't want to say the two words that I was about to say. But I had to.

"I can't."

Maka snapped her head up, her face full of frustration instead of disappointment. "Why not?"

"I don't have the receipt…"

A pause followed. The longer it stretched, the more I realized something. Something important.

I would do anything for Maka.

I wished I could make her smile. I wished I could make her happy. Maybe if I told her I would look for it—even if it meant digging through heaps of trash—then she'd understand. Maybe then she'd know how much I cared about her.

But it was too late. While I thought of a little speech to make, Maka had had enough.

She swung her legs off the ledge, nearly scraping my hands with her shoes as she did. She dropped her feet to the ground, bolted upright, snatched the box from my fingers, and left without a backward glance.

I watched her go without really seeing her. My head hurt. I'd almost forgotten how it felt to be angry.

Maka had a way of doing that. If she was happy for me, then I was happy too. When she was sad, then I was sad too. I'd get scared if she was scared. And now, I was mad that she was mad.

I looked down at all those buildings. They weren't so pretty anymore.

I sat on that balcony until I realized I was going to be late for work.

-xoxo-

The next day, Tuesday, I found Maka sitting in her usual spot in the middle row. Our eyes met, and my fingers tightened around the classroom doorknob. She glared before burying her nose in a book. I went to sit closer to the front, next to Tsubaki and Black*Star instead.

The dark-haired weapon noticed the change right away.

"Did something happen between you and Maka? It almost looks like… like you two had a fight."

Her partner snorted. "It sure didn't look that way yesterday. What with their little hand games and all…"

I cringed.

Tsubaki ignored him and said, "Don't worry, Chrona. Friends don't stay mad for long."

I wasn't mad at Maka. I wasn't even mad at myself anymore.

All throughout the lesson, I kept turning my head around to glance at her. She refused to look at me. The minutes could not have gone by any slower.

Since Maka was angry with me, I had to give her lots of space. I had to be patient. Soon Maka would forgive me. She would forgive me, right? She forgave me under much more dire circumstances before.

I couldn't concentrate. My writing was sloppy. Little scribbles ran along the borders of my notes.

During lunch, Maka didn't sit with us.

"She said she'd be at the library," Soul mentioned.

I wondered if he knew that I spent some of the money on those clothes. I wondered where those clothes were now. I wondered if Maka went to the library because she didn't want to be near me.

What went wrong? Just yesterday, everything was perfect. Today, everything was a disaster. I couldn't think about anything except for the next time Maka would look at me. The sooner she looked at me, the sooner she'd speak with me again. The sooner she spoke, the sooner she'd forgive me. The sooner she forgave me, the sooner we could go back to being friends.

How long would I have to wait? I felt trapped.

When class ended for the day, Maka was the first one out the door.

It was official.

Maka had avoided me for one full day.

I cried myself to sleep that night.

-xoxo-

Wednesday. I didn't want to leave my room. I had just woken up from a dream where Maka was talking to me again and she was wearing the outfit I got her and she let me touch her legs and they weren't like the mannequin's at all. But it was only a dream. I considered pretending to be sick so I'd have an excuse to stay in bed.

But then I wouldn't see Maka. I needed to see her, even if she was mad at me.

Or maybe she wasn't mad anymore. Maybe she cooled off. There was only one way to find out.

I made the mistake of getting my hopes up. When I entered the classroom, she was nowhere to be seen. I turned around, fully intending to climb back into my bed. Instead, I nearly collided with Maka.

My jaw dropped, too stunned to stammer. It was as if she materialized out of thin air, just for me.

I stood in the doorway, hand still on the knob, hardly daring to believe I was awake. But there she stood, too perfect to be fake.

I wanted to smile because it was the first time we were so close to each other since we last spoke. But I couldn't because I didn't know if she was still mad at me.

Maka had taken a half-step back to keep us from crashing. She stared at me with boredom on her face.

No.

She wasn't staring _at _me… Her eyes had a far-off look. She was staring past my ear. Silently.

She was still mad. She hated me.

My eyes began to water and for a split-second, I forgot how to deal with… everything. How did I stop myself from crying? By holding back, holding them in, not letting them go. How did I breathe again? By inhaling and exhaling. How did I calm my heart down? Oh, right. I couldn't; it was involuntary.

I felt dizzy. I thought I was going to faint.

"Hey, Chrona, you're blocking the way." But it wasn't Maka who said it. Soul was standing right behind her. He'd been there the whole time, hadn't he? But Maka was the only one I'd seen. Maybe something was wrong with me.

I blinked. "Oh—S-S-Sorry." I stepped aside, holding the door open for them.

As she went in, Maka didn't glance at or brush past me. Maybe she just needed more time.

I fingered the handle and finally decided to stay. I sat next to Black*Star and Tsubaki again. Even though I was there physically, my mind was somewhere else.

"_You're too sweet to yell at."_

"_No one forced you to spend that money on me!"_

I was starting to figure out why this time was different from the others. I couldn't hear her thoughts, so I had to come up with my own theories. All I did was buy something for her. All I did was spend money that I was supposed to save. That was nothing compared to the horrible things I'd done long ago: kill, lie, betray. Maka helped me through it all. But now, why was she so upset over this little thing?

It was only a guess, but I thought I knew the answer. Back when I killed, lied, and betrayed, it was never really me. I was always a puppet when I did those things. But I bought the outfit of my own free will. Nobody controlled me. Ragnarok didn't count. Maybe that was why Maka disapproved so much. Maybe.

But, to be honest, I didn't care. I _wanted _to get it for her. I didn't regret what I'd done. I only regretted hurting her. It'd be hard, but I would wait for her. As long as I didn't bug her, she'd come around. I hoped it would happen soon, because I missed her badly.

How could I miss someone when they were sitting three rows behind me? It scared me to think that I could be affected this much in just a couple of days. And it was only going to get worse. But at least I was able to see her, since we were in the same class. All I had to do was hang in there and soon things would go back to normal.

Maka didn't have lunch with us again. She went to the library instead. Again. Nobody questioned it, knowing how much she liked to read and study.

I wasn't feeling very hungry that day.

When school was over, she was the first one out the door again. Instead of notes, I packed up pages filled with doodles of her that I didn't remember drawing.

I fell into a deep, uneasy, dreamless sleep that night.

-xoxo-

Thursday. I'd rather have Maka mad at me and trying to kill me than have her mad at me and not speaking to me.

Her silence was torture. It was like the dream I had where she quietly lay on the hospital bed, ignoring me. Refusing to look at me.

I hadn't heard her voice in over two days.

I wanted to hear it, I had to hear it, I needed to hear it. It was impossible to read her mind. Maka was an amazing person with lots of interesting things to say. It wasn't good for a brilliant girl like her to not talk. I loved listening to her.

I knew I shouldn't have, but I let my hopes skyrocket as high as they wanted. Maka would definitely speak to me today. If not, she'd undoubtedly look at me.

There was no way she could be mad at me forever, right?

I got ready for class much too quickly. By now, I knew that Maka was the only reason I kept going. I felt bad for not being able to concentrate on the lessons. But today would be different.

I opened the door just a crack and peeked in. She was there! So far, so good. I pushed the door all the way and stepped in. I looked up at the middle row. She was writing in her notebook. I closed the door as loudly as I dared.

She didn't look up.

My stomach sunk.

_Wait, maybe if I get closer…_

I ascended the steps one at a time. I didn't go too far, though. Just to be safe, I stopped at the row Tsubaki and Black*Star were in. I gazed up at Maka, willing her to notice me.

No luck.

_Wait, just because she hasn't seen me yet doesn't mean she's still mad at me…_

I sighed. The vacant spot next to her was beckoning me, but I couldn't risk it.

I sat down and wished it was just the two of us in the room.

I finally worked up the nerve to take one quick look at her.

I turned my head.

She was staring at me. STARING. Her eyes were on me, and they weren't moving away.

I nearly had a heart attack. Could it really be happening?

Maka put down her pen and stood. She started making her way out.

I turned back around, my face burning. She finally _looked _at me! It wasn't just a glance. She didn't look away when she saw me catch her eye. It was over. She looked at me, and now she was coming to talk to me. She would talk and I would listen. I would hear her voice and anything she said would sound wonderful.

She'd forgive me and thank me for not bothering her while she was in a bad mood. I'd apologize for upsetting her and I'd tell her that there was nothing I wouldn't do for her.

I was glad to be sitting at the _end _of the row, right beside the steps. It made it really easy for her to reach me.

My hands fidgeted in my lap, nervous but excited.

Maka came closer until she was right next to me, but… she kept going.

Where was she going?

Maka descended the stairs all the way and walked to the door.

She left.

But… I saw her looking at me. It wasn't my imagination.

Maybe she was just going to the bathroom and when she got back, she'd come and talk to me.

…_Who am I kidding?_

I was wrong, wasn't I? She was still mad.

I folded my arms on top of the cold, flat surface in front of me and rested my head in them. It was dark, so it didn't matter if I closed my eyes. I stayed very, very still.

"Chrona."

I wasn't going to cry. I would hold onto my patience. And my sanity.

"Chrona."

I raised my head but kept it settled on my arms.

"You should talk to her." Tsubaki's voice was gentle and firm at the same time. Kinda like Maka's.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head slowly. "She doesn't want to talk to me, so I caaaaan't…"

There was a short pause before Tsubaki spoke again. "Then _I'll _talk to her."

I froze, a little shocked. Would she really do that for me? And why was she so concerned? It had nothing to do with her, but she wanted to help anyway.

I looked up at her with wide, curious eyes. "R-Really?"

"Of course. To tell the truth, I've been worried about you two. You're the last person I'd expect Maka to be angry with. I promise I'll do what I can, so don't worry."

Her kindness lifted my spirits. If anyone could convince Maka to forgive me, it would be her.

"Th-Thank you…"

She smiled and, even though mine was small, I smiled back.

Maka was the first one out when it was time for lunch. Tsubaki was right on her heels. I hesitated, then followed them secretly. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help it.

Maka turned and entered a hallway. Tsubaki sped up and stepped right in front of her path. I pressed myself against a wall, safely hidden. I peeked around it and saw Maka's back. Tsubaki didn't seem to know I was there. Her eyes were on Maka.

"I want to talk to you about Chrona."

"There's nothing to talk about."

It was so good hearing her voice.

"Aren't you guys having a fight? Whatever it is, you need to end it. Chrona is really worried about you. Please, I don't think you should be angry anymore…"

Maka gave a long, shuddering sigh. "I'm not mad."

I listened even more closely than before.

Tsubaki frowned. "But… The way you've been acting…"

"That's exactly what it is. An act."

"…You mean… You're only pretending to be mad?"

"That's right."

"But why would you do that? That's… mean."

"Exactly." Maka lowered her head and spoke quietly. "Chrona used some of the money for fixing Soul's motorcycle to buy an outfit for me. You see? For _me_. So, in a way, it's partly my fault. I'm the reason Chrona messed up and did the wrong thing."

"Maka…"

"If I stop being nice, then Chrona won't do things like that anymore, right? I don't want to be the cause of another mistake. None of that money should've been spent on me. I'm not mad, but… Sometimes I feel like I'm just a distraction. Maybe it'd be better if Chrona hated me."

Tsubaki opened her mouth to say something, but I interrupted her.

"You're wrong."

I moved into the hall, away from my hiding place. My arms were folded together in front of me, as if I was cold. I didn't get closer than a few feet, wanting to respect Maka's space.

Both of them looked surprised to see me, but it was Maka who made me momentarily forget what I was about to say.

There were tears flowing down her cheeks.

How could she be crying when she was just talking with such a strong, steady voice? I nearly choked. Seeing her sad, of course, made me feel sad. But I wanted to be strong now, so I did my best to hold my tears in.

"I could n-n-never h-hate you, Maka. You d-don't have to p-pretend anymore."

She was a wreck. Her eyes were wide and sunken, like she was staring at a ghost.

Maka moved forward, lifting her arms, but then stopped. She dropped them to her sides and stepped back, a pained expression on her face.

Tsubaki put her hand on Maka's shoulder and gave her a nod. I wished I could understand what was going on, but I found out once Maka started forward again. She wanted to hug.

I unfolded my arms and hastened to meet her.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, gripping me so hard it hurt. Not that I minded. "I shouldn't let little things like that get to me. It was stupid. I'll never do that again." Her eyes were red and her breathing was heavy. She was really pressing into me, like she was trying to sew us together.

I held her close, relieved that she was finally talking to me again. I had so much more I wanted to tell her, but I couldn't because Tsubaki was right there. And anyone could walk by at any time. I only wanted Maka to hear it, but now I had to wait. Instead, I just murmured that everything was alright. I closed my eyes because I didn't want to see Tsubaki's stare.

Maka sniffled and loosened her grip, but I held on tighter because I didn't want to separate yet. This was real; I wasn't about to let go so easily. She didn't protest.

We mingled in our embrace until I felt too self-conscious. Then we turned to Tsubaki and the three of us went to find our friends in the cafeteria.

I found it difficult to stop looking at her during lunch. I watched as she slowly calmed herself and returned to being the normal, happy Maka I knew. It was hard to stop looking at her during class, too. I thought that once she quit ignoring me, I'd be able to concentrate on my schoolwork again. If anything, I was even more preoccupied than before. But it didn't worry me too much—I knew I'd get back into the hang of it soon.

It was strange how something that kept us apart managed to bring us even closer than before. When it was time to leave, I asked if I could talk to her. I thought she would be busy, but she said yes.

She asked if I wanted to talk at the balcony, but I said no. I wanted to talk with her in my room, where it'd be more quiet and not as open. The words I had to get out were only for Maka's ears.

I closed the door and she instantly went to the window, but my plant still hadn't even begun to grow yet. Maka sat on my bed, slightly disappointed.

I stood by the door, suddenly nervous. Why did it feel weird all of a sudden? I'd always been so comfortable around her before.

Maka rested her eyes on me, and my feet carried me over to her. The bed creaked a little under me. My arms wrapped around her.

"I… I missed you…"

She didn't move. I tried not to think about the thousands of terrible things that _might _happen. I just waited to see what _would _happen and got ready to go from there when it came.

Slowly, she raised her arms and draped them around my neck. She whispered, "I'm sorry" and placed her cheek against mine. It was calming to know she never really hated me.

Realizing she didn't mind being this close made it easier for me to relax into the hug. All the tension left my body. Yesterday she wouldn't even speak to me, but today she let me hug her two times in a row! It was like we were filling in all the emptiness from the past couple of days. I wanted to move on like they'd never happened.

"You're not a distraction," I told her. There was no reason for Maka to ever think badly about herself. "You are the most wonderful and most special person I've ever known and that's why you're very important to me. I like seeing you everyday. I like hearing you talk. You deserve only the nicest things. As long as you're happy, then I know everything will be okay. I'd do anything to see you smile."

It was only a fraction of how I felt about Maka. If I could write it all down, it would probably be enough to fill a book. Even so, words could only do so much. I worried that they wouldn't be enough to make her understand.

Maka pulled back, her hands sliding away from my neck so she could hold onto my arms instead, right below my shoulders. Her eyes were downcast. She was thinking deeply about something, and whatever it was must've been really sad.

This could've been the perfect time to ask her what she was thinking about, but I decided not to. It would've been nice to find out what was going on in her head and then look for a way to make her smile. Sometimes, though, it was better to leave someone to their privacy. I sensed that this was one of those times.

On the bright side, if I practiced some more and worked to become a true close friend, then I should be able to read Maka better without having to ask.

For now, though, I didn't get why Maka looked so sad. I stared and stared at her face, but nothing came to mind. We sat in silence for a long time.

At last, Maka stirred. She lifted her head and enveloped her arms around my neck again.

For a second, she simply gazed up at me, almost like she was waiting for me to say something. Or do something. But it didn't last, and she leaned in to put her cheek against mine again. Her fingers lightly stroked my hair. I held her closer.

I was positive that it was the longest hug we'd ever shared. It was like taking a long, hot bath during a cold night. The dense and fuzzy feeling gradually melted into something soft and loose. My heart slowed to a smooth and steady beat.

Afterwards, we just sat and talked about little things—about the book I was reading, about books we'd both read, about schoolwork, about music. We talked about Soul and the others, about teachers, about her parents. I asked her to see if I was remembering her favorite things correctly ("What was your favorite holiday again?"). I asked her new questions ("Are you allergic to anything?").

I would've talked with Maka all night if I could, but I soon had to leave for work. She must've noticed how disappointed I was, because when we stood, she gently pinched my chin and raised it. She gave me one of her most sincerest smiles.

"I promise you'll see me tomorrow."

Would it ever be possible for me to never have to leave her side?


	9. New

A/N: If you like lovey-dovey songs, might I suggest "Tokyo" by Charmaine? Or "Why" by Dontae?

* * *

><p>She was wearing it.<p>

There she sat, in the middle row as usual, wearing the outfit I'd bought for her.

She caught my eye. Waved me over. I walked as if I was in a trance. I plopped down next to her.

"You kept it."

The lightest shade of red ran across her face. "Yeah. I… I really like it." She paused to stare at her lap. "How… How does it look?"

"You look gorgeous."

Her head whipped up.

"I-I mean _it _looks gorgeous! It… It looks good on you…"

I liked the way the neck of the shirt dipped just below her collarbone. The tears along the sleeves only partially revealed her shoulders, leaving behind an essence of mystery. The heart with angel wings fit right in the middle of her chest. And the leggings… They fit perfectly, too.

Maka sounded both happy and embarrassed when she said, "Thanks."

During the lecture, I did a bad thing. I paid attention—more than I had from the past few days—but something distracted me every now and then.

And just yesterday, I'd told Maka she wasn't a distraction.

Oh, but wait. This was my fault, not hers. It was my fault I kept sneaking peeks at her legs. I kept looking because I longed to know how they'd feel. Would it be the same as my dream? It definitely wouldn't be like the mannequin, right? Because Maka was human—alive. Flesh was softer than whatever that statue was made of. And since it was Maka, hers must be especially nice.

I got my chance at the end of the day. This time, _she _asked to have a talk with _me_.

"I don't suppose your plant grew overnight, did it?"

I shook my head nervously, wishing I could say yes. But she didn't seem to mind. I let her enter first and closed the door behind us. She went to my bookshelf and searched through it, saying she wanted to ask what I thought about a scene from a certain story. It had been bothering her for a while, and she wanted to get my opinion of it.

I was about to sit on my bed, but she settled down on the rug instead. Taking her shoes off, she invited me to do the same.

Sitting by her on the floor made the rug seem even more fluffy.

"Does Shibusen have a book club?" I wondered.

"I don't think so… Maybe we should make one! I'd be the president and you could be the vice-president!"

I only asked because I thought Maka would be very happy in a book club. But she wanted me to be included, too. I did like to read, but I wasn't sure if I could talk about books to other people. Maka always said there wasn't a "right" way to interpret a story, but what if my opinions were so ridiculous to someone else, and they laughed at me? I didn't think I could deal with that. And being a vice-president sounded really important, but I wasn't much of a leader. I'd rather follow orders, not give them.

Maka could tell something was wrong. That was one of the things I liked most about her.

"We don't have to, though. I think it'd be fun, but we can worry about that later."

After we finished discussing the scene, we moved on to other topics, just like we did yesterday.

Except this time, I was only half-listening. Normally I absorbed every word Maka said, but I was distracted again by her legs. I kept thinking of a way to ask if I could touch them without sounding like a pervert. Then I wanted to kick myself. Why couldn't I just leave them alone?

_Because it's Maka. The fact that she's wearing the clothes I got her means she truly has forgiven me. And she's sorry for ignoring me._

Maybe I could make it seem like an accident? No. No, that wouldn't work. I didn't want to do it like that.

Maybe I could just say, "I'm really glad you liked your present after all." But no. That didn't even come close. It happened before, didn't it? Just yesterday. Words were okay, but they couldn't reach far enough…

But when we hugged…

"What's wrong, Chrona?"

It was now or never. I opened my mouth, but I couldn't say it. I couldn't say it. I wanted to say it, but I couldn't.

Maka tilted her head curiously and waited. That was another thing I loved about her. She seemed to have a special patience that was meant only for me. For her sake, I had to ask.

Having a dry throat was no excuse to quit. I had to try. It was the worse case of stutters and mumbles I'd ever experienced, but no matter how hard I worked, I couldn't get past the first word.

Maka's concern showed on her face, eyebrows slanted, lips pulled down at the corners. She told me to take a deep breath. She scooted closer and placed a hand between my shoulder blades. I hadn't realized I was shaking until then.

I eventually stopped as Maka moved her hand in little circles. She softly reminded me that I could tell her anything, that I didn't have to rush, that she was interested in whatever I had to say.

"Can I touch you?"

Maka froze. I went rigid. I was so soothed by her voice and the pressure on my upper back that I thought, _Don't even think about what to say_—_just say it!_ I thought that would help. I was wrong.

_That _was _not _what I meant to say _at all_. Why didn't it come out right?

_Fix it, fix it, FIX IT!_

No matter how shocked Maka was, it couldn't compare to how I felt. I had to make things right, but my voice was lost. My vocal chords were ruined. Damaged. Gone. Broken beyond repair.

Now I knew exactly how it felt to be a mannequin.

Maka's hand slipped away. Her eyes couldn't get any wider. But then she blinked and they shrunk to their regular size. I thought they'd be filled with disgust, but instead they seemed to waver with uncertainty.

She stared at the fluffy white floor, lost in thought, just like yesterday.

All my senses were numb. I couldn't move, but at least my mind still functioned. I was pretty sure she was deciding whether to say no and call me a creep or to say no and give me a Maka-Chop for saying something so stupid. Or maybe she'd say no, call me a creep, _and _Maka-Chop me. Not necessarily in that order.

How could silence be this loud? Where was that buzzing coming from? Oh, wait. My ears were ringing from the tension.

Right when I thought I was finally going to pass out, Maka lifted her arm. She held her hand at an angle and used it to hide part of her mouth.

The rigidness was slowly disappearing. I blinked.

She looked at me. She looked a little scared.

I was confused. Why would she be afraid of me?

Maka's eyes stayed glued to mine. She nodded once.

Now I was even more confused. A nod meant yes. Yes? Yes to what? Yes to my question? Was she giving me permission to touch her?

Why?

Could it be that she understood what I really meant?

In any case, it was clear she wasn't mad at me. She didn't hate me.

I swallowed, but my throat was still kind of dry. I inched closer to Maka, careful not to look at her face.

She moved suddenly, repositioning herself. One leg lay stretched out while the other propped its knee up. Her arms were behind her, hands flat on the rug. She didn't look scared anymore.

I held my hand over the leg with its knee in the air. I hesitated. This was really happening. It was literally a dream come true.

I waited for my breath to steady itself. Maka was waiting, too, in that patient way of hers.

My hand glided down to her ankle. That's where I'd start. My fingers twitched before I lowered the tips onto the shiny black material.

Maka didn't slap my hand away. I relaxed completely.

I let my fingertips slide up then down until they reached the hem of her denim skirt. Then I let them travel back to her ankle.

I was right. They didn't feel like the mannequin's. They didn't even feel like the ones from my dream. This was better.

I took my time. I traced lots of straight paths along her leggings and lots of wavy paths, too. It was during my first wavy one that Maka made a quick, strange noise—something like a laugh and a gasp.

I stopped and looked at her. She said it tickled. Did she want it to stop tickling? No, she didn't mind. In fact, she really liked it. That made me smile.

When I switched to her other leg, Maka adjusted herself in just the slightest way so I could reach comfortably. I wondered how she knew when and how to do that.

As my fingertips danced from shin to thigh, I noted just how close-fitting her leggings were. Not once had I skimmed over any folds or loose parts. I was almost sure it was supposed to be that way, but I hoped it wasn't bringing her any discomfort. Once, she wore high heels to a formal party, and she said it hurt her feet. I didn't want Maka to wear anything that hurt her.

My other hand got a chance to explore, too. It was the last time I used the tips of my fingers. I flexed them, bringing them together and spreading them out again over one spot near her skirt. As they swept back toward her ankle, I lowered my hand. Now my fingers and my palm were on her leg.

It let me take in more at once. I ran it lightly up, down, and under, sometimes using one hand, then the other, or both.

I glanced at Maka. Her eyes were closed. At first I thought I bored her to sleep. Then she raised the leg my hands were on, in the same way a graceful ballerina would. She lowered it back down the same way, too.

Though I'd only wanted to focus on her legs, I had a feeling she wouldn't mind if I touched her face, too. Other places, however, I knew were off-limits. Like her shoulders. And her collarbone.

I really liked her blouse, but I knew it would be wrong to rest my ear against the cute little picture and listen to her heartbeat.

So instead, I brushed her bangs aside.

Maka opened her eyes, but she didn't seem mad. I brushed her bangs with the opposite hand. Her sand-colored hair was like silk.

My fingers slid through her ponytail, stopping at the very bottom. I rubbed it delicately between my fingertips. I did the same to the other.

Maka's eyes were half-closed when I leaned in and stroked her cheek. I took turns using both sides of my hand.

As expected, touching her bare skin felt different. It must've tickled Maka, but it tickled me too. Not enough to induce laughter—it was like a different kind of tickle. Dry and smooth.

I was already close enough, so I put my forehead on hers. I closed my eyes, wondering why her brow was a little bit damp. Was she hot? Should I open the window? My throat wasn't so dry anymore, but I wasn't sure if my voice had returned.

I could feel her breath on my lips. I opened my mouth, trying to determine if I was able to speak.

"Don't."

It was a plea, not a command. I pulled back and was surprised to find her looking scared again, blushing.

"Sorry," I muttered, dropping my head.

"It's not you, it's me."

She didn't do anything wrong, so what did she mean? I picked my head up to see Maka's uneasiness replaced with… anger? At herself?

I didn't have time to worry about it because it was gone as soon as I noticed it. Maka stared at the floor, thinking.

Would she push me away if I tried touching her again? Probably. Would she answer me if I asked her what she was thinking about? Maybe, maybe not. Was it worth a shot?

Yes.

I prepared myself, but it was too late. Maka leaned back and lay on the rug, turning on her side.

She patted the space in front of her and said, "Lie down."

I did, facing her, getting as close as I could without feeling cramped.

Maka reached down, took my hand, and held it loosely.

I didn't move. Her face had the same sad look as the one from yesterday. Something was troubling her, and I couldn't stand it. The reason she was sad then had to have been the same reason she was sad now.

Was it because of me? What could I do to make her happy? Did she understand why I told her only nice things? Did she understand why I wanted to be physically close to her? Were those the right ways to express myself? Did she know how important she was to me? I had so many questions that I didn't know where to start.

"I like your hands." Maka was watching her fingers play with mine, trying to get them to respond.

"R-Really?"

"Mm-hmm." She sighed quietly and shut her eyes. The movements of her fingers slowly died out.

I let myself stare at her. My white, fluffy rug made it seem like she was an angel resting on a cloud. Part of her hair spilled over her face. I almost wanted to brush it out of the way, but it wouldn't matter. She'd still be pretty no matter what.

Pretty.

Her clothes outlined the small curves of her shoulders, waist, and legs.

Maka was beautiful.

In that moment, I knew there was another way to show how much I cared about her. All I needed were my eyes. All I had to do was look at her. I didn't need to say or do anything. I could just be still and quiet.

And that's exactly what I did. I lay next to Maka in a sweet and comfortable silence, admiring the fact that she was with me.

If only she could relax. She hadn't moved a muscle. She didn't look peaceful. She looked… dead.

But then she spoke. Her voice was strong. Clear. Depressing.

"I think we've reached the borderline now."

The words flew over my head. I'd heard what she said but couldn't make sense of it. We hadn't gone anywhere. We were still in Shibusen. What did she mean, "borderline"?

Her eyes opened. They were shiny. Helpless. Lost. "Don't you think so, too?"

I had no idea what to say. Was I supposed to agree?

Maka blinked, and her sorrow seemed to lessen. It bothered her that I wasn't answering.

"Do you get what I'm saying?"

I bit my lip, hard. I promised I wouldn't lie to her. But I didn't want to admit the truth. I hated not understanding the simplest things.

I shook my head, feeling ashamed of myself.

"Oh…" she said.

Instead of giving me an explanation, she smiled brightly. "In that case, never mind. It's nothing to worry about then."

And just like that, she was happy.

I was shocked. What just happened? Never before had my… naïveté… been so helpful. A misunderstanding somehow got rid of her sadness.

_Well_, I thought as she rubbed her thumb against my wrist, _at least she's happy now_. _That's all that matters_.

I squeezed her hand.

-xoxo-

That day was my last day working as a mascot. I stayed up that night fearing I hadn't made enough. Tomorrow was Saturday—I'd count it up then.

When I did, my suspicions were confirmed. I was short, but not by a lot.

I needed another job, fast. I was running out of time. The repairs on Soul's motorcycle were getting closer to being finished. I needed something quick and easy.

BABY-SITTER WANTED

I stared at the title of the ad, hoping the first word didn't mean what I thought it meant. Setting the newspaper down, I went to my bookshelf and took out the dictionary.

Baby-sitter. Noun. Someone hired to take care of one or more children.

I glanced through the rest of the ad. A mother needed her one-year-old son looked after. I could fill the gap in just one day.

Only one problem. I didn't know how to deal with children.

I tried to find something else, but today's paper didn't offer a lot of choices.

_Maybe Maka can teach me?_

I was supposed to have lunch at her place, so I brought the newspaper with me. I wasn't looking forward to telling her I hadn't earned enough yet.

Neither Soul nor Maka seemed surprised by it, though. They weren't disappointed or angry, either.

Actually, it was hard to guess how Soul felt; his face was too expressionless.

Maka merely smiled smugly and said, "Is that so?"

I nodded solemnly. There was little to no doubt in my mind that all three of us—four counting Ragnarok, who was perched on my head—knew the reason why I was behind.

Blair probably didn't know. She was busy cooking for us while we waited at the table. Maka asked about the newspaper, so I showed her the ad.

"But I don't know how to take care of a kid, so… I think I should look for something else, later…"

She wouldn't hear of it. She grew more and more excited by the second, as if Christmas had come early.

"I can show you how it's done." And before anyone could stop her, she was already heading for the phone.

"I'm not so sure about this, Chrona," said Ragnarok. "Little brats like that are… well, brats."

Soul murmured something that sounded a lot like, "You should talk."

Maka stayed on the phone for a long time. It turned out the woman who needed a sitter was the sister of someone who worked at Maka's favorite bookstore.

The infant's name was Cody. His mother said he loved being around new people. That meant I didn't have to worry about him hating me. And Maka would be there to look after both of us.

So why was I so nervous when the day arrived? I told myself it was just a baby. There was no reason to be scared.

As we walked, Maka acted like we were on our way to a carnival. She couldn't wait to see what Cody looked like and what kind of games he'd want to play. She couldn't wait to show me how to feed him and how to give him a bath.

I stared at the ground, fighting the urge to turn around and run back to the academy. I had to get these "What if…?" scenarios out of my head.

It got quiet and the silence didn't surprise me. Maka stepped closer to me and held my hand. That didn't surprise me, either. I stopped slumping. How did we get to the point where we could hold hands without asking? We never talked about it, but I knew we were both okay with it. I could hold her hand whenever I wanted, without having to ask.

Suddenly, Maka asked, "Do you ever want to have kids, Chrona?"

I almost stumbled. "I've never thought about it before," was my answer.

"Really? Well, I have." She bent her head down a little, trying to hide the smile painted on her face. "I'd like to have one someday… Or maybe two…" Her cheeks colored, reminding me of flowers blooming. She turned away so I couldn't see.

That wasn't fair. Maka was cute. Why would she hide?

As we got closer and closer to the house, I got more and more nervous even though I wouldn't be doing this by myself. I let go of her hand as we walked the path leading to the door. We stopped, and I swallowed before ringing the doorbell.

Cody's mother seemed just as excited as Maka. After we were all introduced, she showed us where her baby was.

He screamed the moment he saw us, making me jump. But then I realized it was a happy scream. Somehow that made me not want to take a single step further.

I stood in the middle of the living room, watching him cautiously. He sat in the playpen that was set up in the corner. He had wide steel-gray eyes and thin, flat, inky hair that covered all of his skull and hid half of his ears.

Maka poked my shoulder, but I didn't move. She stood behind me, grabbed my arms, and steered me over to him. We kneeled down.

"He only knows one word, I'm afraid. 'Up.' He still loves being carried everywhere when he should be spending more time getting around on his own."

"Does he know how to walk yet?" Maka asked.

"He can stand and crawl, but he's only ever tried walking once. It's like he just gave up. You'll help him practice, won't you?"

"Of course we will. Right, Chrona?"

"Y-Yeah…"

I didn't like the way Cody's eyes never left Maka. I was tempted to call the whole thing off, but I knew it was too late.

Maka wrapped her arm around my shoulders and leaned in close to my ear. "Why don't you tell him our names?"

Cody had no choice but to look at both of us.

"Um… I'm Chrona, and this is Maka." I pointed as I said our names. "Can you say 'Maka'? Ma-ka."

The baby babbled.

"See?" Maka whispered to me. "It's not so bad, huh?"

I nodded, but then Cody's mother asked to have a word with Maka in the kitchen, her tone losing its giddiness and becoming more businesslike. I tried not to let my panic show. They were going to leave me alone with him?

Maka stood up. I wanted to reach out to her, but I didn't. I had to at least pretend that I could handle this.

I watched them leave, then saw that I wasn't the only one. Even after they disappeared, he still didn't take his eyes away.

At last, he grew bored of it. He turned his head to me and said, "Up!"

I hesitated. I never held a child before.

"Up! Up!"

Fearing he'd start wailing, I lifted him out of the playpen. I nearly tripped—I didn't expect someone so young to be this heavy.

After some squirming, I managed to hold him steady in my arms. He babbled nonstop. Sometimes he stared at the ceiling and sometimes he stared at the floor. He didn't stop talking even when he put a tiny fist in his mouth.

His mother returned to say goodbye, Maka trailing right behind her. She was scowling and blushing a fiery red. When it was just the three of us, I asked her what happened. She dismissed it as nothing important and changed the subject by showing me the piece of paper in her hand. It was a list of instructions on how to prepare Cody's food, when to bathe him, when to make him take a nap, and what number to call if we had any questions.

Maka asked if she could hold him and I couldn't say no even if I wanted to. The kid had stretched his arms toward her the second his mother's back was turned, spouting gibberish at lightning speed. I handed him over, frowning at how he instantly began touching her face.

Maka grinned and let him play with her hair.

I shouldn't be angry. He was just a baby.

Maka rubbed her nose against his, cooing over how cute he was. Cody giggled as if to say, "I am, aren't I?"

I shouldn't be mad at a baby. That would be ridiculous.

"Maka!" he sang.

"Oh, look, he said my name!"

"Great."

It was probably my first time saying something sarcastic. Maka raised her eyebrows at me before smiling gently.

"Don't worry—I'm sure he'll learn your name too."

I didn't bother to tell her that wasn't the point. I almost caught myself thinking of Cody as nothing but a brat, as Ragnarok put it, until Maka did something that scared me half to death.

She grabbed him by the pit of his arms and lifted him high in the air so quickly, she may as well have thrown him. She swooped him back down, bending as she did, and tossed him back up without letting him go. His legs and hair flailed as she cried "Whee!" each time.

"M-Maka, be c-careful!"

"I won't drop him. And look, he's having fun."

Cody was shrieking in delight. I only calmed down a little, watching anxiously and standing close just in case.

He was just a baby.

-xoxo-

There were a lot of toys in the playpen, so we spent some time playing. Cody insisted that Maka play with the toy trucks and that I play with the teddy bear. He seemed to enjoy chewing on everything instead of playing with them, though.

It felt weird.

Maka got up to use the bathroom. Cody tried to crawl after her. I held him back.

"You can't go with her."

"Wongo! Maka!"

He struggled and fussed. Then he picked up a toy hammer and whacked my forehead with it. He dropped it and pulled on my cheeks, my hair, and my ears instead. But his hands were so small that it was no different than—

"Hey, I think I like this kid!"

"Ragnarok, wait!"

There was nothing I could do. When Ragnarok wanted to come out, he did.

Cody's mouth fell open as he saw the dark mass emerge from my back. Ragnarok leaned over my head to put his face right in front of Cody's.

I stayed absolutely still.

The baby stared and stared at Ragnarok.

Ragnarok stared and stared at the baby.

_Don't do it_, I silently pleaded. _Don't do it, don't do it…_

He did it.

Ragnarok opened his mouth wide, yelling, "Gupi!"

Cody screamed… and laughed.

The being on my head was just as shocked as I was. Obviously, his plan to scare the child failed miserably. He crossed his arms and muttered, "Dumb brat."

Cody took it as a compliment. He tried to pat Ragnarok's head, but said weapon kept dodging.

"This ain't no petting zoo!" He picked up the toy hammer to fend his attacker off.

The young boy took up a toy saw, and the duel commenced.

I tried to avoid being hit by keeping low and making myself as small as possible. The battle didn't end until Maka came back.

"I should've known you'd be good with kids, Ragnarok." She lifted Cody into her arms and suggested we all get something to eat.

One messy feeding session later, we helped him practice taking his first steps. We took turns holding his hands and walking him through the house. But whenever we let go, he would seemingly fall on purpose and start crawling.

Ragnarok said he was just being lazy and that some discipline was in order. Maka was against it, of course, and felt certain that he'd learn it eventually. Sensing he was tired of standing on two feet, she brought him into her lap and played a game I'd never seen before. She said it was called "Patty Cake."

After teaching me the words and gestures, she put him in my lap. But Cody was more interested in trying to reach Ragnarok. Maka asked him why he never let anyone touch him.

"First of all, it's called 'personal space.' And second, I know most people don't wash their hands. No way am I letting this kid get his sticky fingers on me."

"Wagwok."

"I think he just said your name."

"No he didn't."

"Wagwok!" Cody's attempts to pet Ragnarok increased rapidly. He was getting desperate.

I knew that if Ragnarok was _really _annoyed with him, he'd have just dissolved back into my body. Instead he only doubled his efforts to duck, twist, and swing out of the way.

My theory that Cody would tire out first was right. He leaned against Maka's leg, and she picked him up. She frowned.

"He's wet," she said. "C'mon, I'll show you how to change his diaper."

Ragnarok recoiled. "Uhhh, thanks but no thanks. I think my work here is done." He looked down at me and added, "Good luck with that."

But it wasn't that bad. Maka told me what to do while she gave Cody a teething ring to chew on. The toddler didn't put up a fight. Maka spoke to him in a quiet, soothing voice.

The next thing we did was look at children's books. There was one that presented things that began with each letter of the alphabet, one that showed shapes and colors, and one that featured the numbers zero to ten.

I didn't mind doing everything—holding the book, pointing, reading aloud, turning the pages—while the other two watched and listened.

Maka was paying the most attention. Her face was serious. It was the same face she made whenever someone mentioned my mother's name.

A long time ago, Maka would become furious just thinking about her. But after her death, the expression changed into something new. It was similar to the way she looked when she was concentrating as hard as she could on an extra-important lesson. The only difference was, it lacked determination. I could swear that deep down, it was concern.

Before the first word had even left my mouth, Maka had placed her hand on my forearm. I knew she was thinking about my mother, and I knew the reason why.

She was wondering how she treated me as a baby. She was imagining me growing up without soft toys, without games like Patty Cake, without gentle words, without being picked up and held affectionately. Without someone to read me big, brightly colored books.

I didn't remember what it was like when I was one year old, but I did remember a certain book I had to look at when I was young. It was very, very different from the ones I was reading to Cody.

I moved on to a pop-up book. It was about Christmas. It was funny to see his eyes glow in wonder as the pictures unfolded and sprung to life.

The first was a Christmas tree. "It is Christmas Eve," I read. "The Christmas tree stands tall and green."

I turned the page.

I paused.

Two people popped out of the book. They were standing under mistletoe.

I had seen people kiss in movies and on TV. I'd read about people kissing in novels.

I'd seen people kiss in real life. In public. At the park, at the academy, in coffee shops.

I'd seen kisses that were short and quick, some that were just a bit longer, and ones that didn't seem to end. I'd seen some that looked sweet and some that looked passionate. Sometimes too passionate.

I didn't think I'd see a kiss in a children's pop-up book.

Cody and Maka looked at me curiously, waiting for me to go on. I shook the memories from my mind.

"Mother and Father kiss underneath the mistletoe."

I went through more and more stories until I reached one that wasn't as general as the others had been. It was called "The Ugly Duckling."

Maka said this was one of her favorite fairy tales. Another new thing about her for me to remember. I'd never heard of it before, so if Maka really liked it, then it must be good. I started reading.

I didn't notice I was crying until a tear fell onto the page I was halfway done with.

I ignored it. This was just a kids' book. Why would I be sad? It had to have a happy ending, right?

But as I read the words and saw the illustrations depicting how everyone scorned the duckling, more and more tears gathered in my eyes.

If it was me, people would have good reason to hate me. I'd committed unspeakable acts that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

But here, the duckling did nothing wrong. He was always kind and never harmed anybody. Yet he was hated just because of the way he looked.

He was despised because of something he had no control over.

"Chrona…?"

I had to stop them, but I couldn't stop them. They kept on falling. I let the book go. I couldn't get it wet and ruin it.

Maka tightly wrapped her arms around me.

"The Ugly Duckling" was a made-up story. None of it was real. None of the characters were real. Why was I letting it get to me?

Even his family turned on him.

Maka rubbed my back and said, "Shhh…"

The ugly duckling was all alone. No one loved him.

Suddenly, I felt another set of hands pulling on my sleeve. Cody.

Even an infant was pitying me.

Was I upset because I felt sorry for the duckling? Was it because he reminded me of myself?

"Donokly, Rowa."

Rowa? Was he trying to say my name?

I looked at his face and saw that he was about to cry, too.

_Stop crying! _I scolded myself. I wiped at my eyes, roughly, so it would hurt.

What kind of example was I setting for this child? He was innocent, happy, living a normal childhood. Everything was perfect for him. And I had to mess it all up by bringing in darkness and gloom. All because I couldn't stop being such a weakling.

Maka, too. Another reason I had to stop. She didn't like it when I cried. She didn't like seeing me sad.

"Chrona, look at me."

I didn't want to, but I did anyway. She was gripping my shoulders and smiling with sad eyes.

She said, "Listen."

Then she picked up the book and read from where I left off.

Her voice was calming. Cody and I listened and watched as she finished the story.

The ugly duckling eventually grew into a beautiful, elegant swan. He met other swans and finally found a place where he belonged.

"And he lived happily ever after!" she said with a flourish and made Cody clap his hands. The boy giggled and bounced.

I hugged my knees. Of course things worked out in the end. I was worrying for nothing. Still, I could see why Maka liked it so much.

It was time to give Cody a bath. Again, Maka showed me what to do while distracting him from squirming around too much. By the end of it, he was yawning. We went to his room and put him in his crib, where he quickly fell asleep.

The house was quiet.

Maka and I sat on the sofa in the living room. It faced a TV, but neither of us reached for the remote. Cody's mother would be home soon, probably before her son woke up.

I stared at the floor, hands clenched on top of my knees. I waited for Maka to say something. She usually talked first to get me to speak. A minute went by, but she hadn't made a sound. Maybe she was still trying to come up with something.

The silence stretched on and on. I was too afraid to think of anything to say. I was still embarrassed. I'd cried in front of a baby.

I glanced at Maka. She was leaning against the back cushion, blankly studying the black TV screen. I wondered if she was being mute on purpose. Maybe she wanted me to go first.

I fidgeted. I wasn't ready to talk about "The Ugly Duckling," so I searched for something else. It would've been fine to just sit here, but only if I could look at Maka. I didn't think it'd be a good idea to stare at her now, though.

"Maka?"

"Hmm?"

"How come you're so good at taking care of kids?"

She thought about it for a moment. "I've babysat for Fire and Thunder before," she said. "But also…" She tilted her head a little.

"This one time… Soul and I were on an escort mission. We were bodyguards for two women. One of them had a kid a bit younger than Cody. The other was pregnant."

She smiled. "We got them to where they were going safely. But we had to spend the night because of a snowstorm. I spent a lot of time with the baby and his mother showed me how to take care of him. Then, in the middle of the night, the pregnant woman gave birth to a baby girl. They let me help."

She sighed quietly and spoke more to herself than to me. "Their souls are so small."

She folded her hands in her lap. I unclenched mine and placed one of them over hers. She didn't flinch.

I wanted to apologize for earlier, but she would probably say there was nothing to be sorry about. I wondered if she cried the first time she heard it. I wondered which of her parents read it to her, or if they both did.

"Maka?"

"Yes?" She looked up at me.

I hesitated, wondering if my question would sound weird to her. No, I decided. After what happened on the day she wore that outfit I'd got her, this question shouldn't seem strange at all.

"Do you think… maybe… Do you think that maybe someday I can turn into a beautiful swan, too?"

Maka leaned forward and sat up straight, turning to face me directly. She unfolded her hands and laced all her fingers with mine. "Don't you think you already are?"

I shook my head, and it made her frown.

"But aren't you happy here?"

"Of course," I answered quickly. I'd be happy anywhere as long as Maka was there, too.

She brightened up. "See? That means you're already right where you belong. You already have your happy ending. And I think you're already beautiful, inside and out."

She spoke with such confidence that there was no way I could doubt her. She truly believed everything she'd said, and that was good enough for me.

I couldn't hold my smile back. I really wanted to, because it was the kind that was wobbly and awkward, but there was nothing I could do. She made me so happy. If our hands weren't hugging each other, I'd have covered my mouth.

But Maka seemed really glad to see it.

I scooted closer to her, lowering my forehead. She closed her eyes and moved her own to meet it.

When two swans put their heads together, their long necks help them form the shape of a heart. I wished I could see how Maka and I looked. But the view I had at the moment was amazing.

Her face was so close. I tried not to let our noses touch, thinking it'd bother her, but after a while I gave up. Her soft, slow breathing tickled my lips. My eyelids felt heavy.

Her hands pulled away too soon. I was disappointed, but Maka only lay back flat on the sofa. She patted the spot beside her. I understood.

There wasn't a lot of room, so we were really packed in. It must've been the point, because as soon as I was stretched out, she snuggled right up to me. There wasn't any space between us. She tucked her head under my chin and slid her arms around my waist.

I'd never cuddled with anyone, so I wasn't sure what to do.

Not wanting to just lie there uncomfortably, my arms moved of their own accord. One slinked around her shoulders and the other cradled her head. Much better.

I loved the way she nuzzled even closer. She fit so snugly. I realized that I was glad to be taller than her. Holding her like this made me feel like I was the one keeping her safe. That was what I wanted: to protect her. After all she'd done for me, I wanted to show her that she could rely on me.

The minutes raced by. I hardly blinked. Her breath tickled my neck. Her eyes were shut and she barely moved. I wondered if she was asleep or just resting. I wondered if it'd be alright to stroke her hair, trace my fingers behind her neck, or rub her back up and down. Another idea flashed across my mind. I froze.

It was the first time I ever thought about kissing Maka.

But what surprised me more was how calmly I let that image stick. Somehow, with us being alone in this quiet room, kissing her would actually seem… _right_.

But I'd never kissed anyone before, so I might do it wrong. And it might make her upset.

Maybe just a little one would be okay?

And if I was lucky, she might not even feel it. Should I take the risk? I had to decide now, because if I kept thinking about it, I'd back out for sure.

So, as lightly as I could, I pressed my lips to the space between her eyes. She didn't jump or anything, so I let them stay there for as long as I liked.

I drew back and found Maka's leafy green eyes looking at me.

I was too stunned to panic. I couldn't even open my mouth to apologize.

Maka inspected me with mild curiosity. My eyes widened as she inched closer. She planted a kiss on each cheek.

One.

Two.

My brain was far too slow to process what just happened. When it finally did register, my face flushed.

She was okay with it. I didn't do anything wrong. _She kissed me back_. Her lips were soft.

I leaned forward.

I clumsily kissed her between the eyes and on both cheeks.

One. Two. Three.

I pulled back.

Her skin was smooth. It was like tasting candy for the first time.

She closed the gap. One. Two. Three. Four. Bridge. Left cheek. Right cheek. Nose.

We went back and forth, adding one more every time. It stopped after about ten and turned into random places and numbers. I stopped counting.

We kept our lips shut, placing them everywhere on each other's faces except the mouth. One of her legs wrapped around mine.

Maka kissed my nose, eyelids, forehead, cheeks, chin, and even my ears. Sometimes she did it quickly and sometimes she lingered.

I followed suit. I did my best to make them as graceful as hers. I wanted to match her so that she could enjoy this just as much as I did.

Maka licked her lips. Now they were full and glossy.

I gulped.

When she pressed her lips to my chin, she parted them. They were opened just a little. She planted her gentle smooches up the sides of my face. A few of them made quiet smacking sounds. She finished with the top edge of both ears, staying longer than ever before.

My heart was hammering. I took a moment to calm down.

Maka smiled coyly.

I decided.

I moistened my lips, too. I let them separate. Brushing her bangs aside, I stamped two loving kisses on her brow. My fingers swept a pigtail out of the way, giving me access to her ear. My mouth hovered just above it, breathing into it until she made that laughing gasp.

Then I lowered the rim of my mouth to her earlobe. I was reminded that this was the same ear I accidentally grazed when we played Twister. It was okay for them to touch now. Her flesh was warm. I moved down, kissing her along the outline of her jaw.

Maka stiffened.

"Chro—"

"W-Wait…"

I was saving her lips for last. I sped up, pecking all round her face, then slowed down again. At last, I let them hang over hers, divided only by a single thread of air. Her breath was tickling my lips once more. I was ready. I closed my eyes.

Maka jolted upright. She let go of me completely, limbs disentangling themselves. My eyes snapped open. I heard the urgency in her voice.

"She's back!"

She's back? Who's she? Who's back?

The front door opened and Cody's mother stepped in.

I sat up and scooted away from Maka, moving as fast as a mousetrap.

I was terrified, but the woman hadn't seen or noticed anything odd. What a relief.

-xoxo-

Cody was still sleeping when we left.

Maka was sad. "I wish we could've told him goodbye."

I held her hand. "I think I can deal with kids now. A little."

She smiled and rested her head on my shoulder.


	10. Future

I did it. I reached my goal. I kept my promise.

Soul was impressed. Maka was proud. I was happy.

On the day Soul got his bike back, he gave us a ride. I'd never seen him so excited.

The people at the repair shop did a really good job. It was like brand new.

We thundered along the city. He whooped and laughed the whole time. The motorcycle was going so fast, I thought I'd fall off. I tightened my hold on Maka's waist.

We hit a bump and I squeaked. The wind whipped by fiercely; I had to squint my eyes. Maka shouted for Soul to slow down. He must not have liked being told what to do on his own vehicle, because he soon brought it to a stop.

He dropped us off at a fountain and asked if we'd wait for him, claiming he wanted to ride it alone for a while. Maka rolled her eyes.

"I'll pick you up soon." And with that, he was off.

We stood in a small plaza, empty at the moment. The fountain in the center could only be a Death City fountain—its resemblance of Shinigami-sama was uncanny. Maka took my hand and we walked to sit at its base. It was a nice day. The sun was out, but it wasn't hot. It was pleasantly warm. Clouds drifted here and there. There was only the sound of water splashing behind us.

We were facing each other and holding hands. I loved the way Maka looked at me. I loved being a beautiful swan in her eyes.

"So… I was wondering…"

"Yes?" I asked.

"Since you've had a chance to work in different kinds of jobs, I was wondering… Have you ever thought about the future? Like, what you want to do when you grow up?"

I shifted. To be honest, I never wanted to do anything like that again. "It's a lot to think about… And it's tiring sometimes…"

"Maybe you just need to find a good match for you," she said and it made me think of Azusa. Working for her hadn't been so bad. "But I guess we still have time to figure things out."

I looked down at our joined hands, not answering her. I didn't want to think about the future. There was something important that I was afraid might happen. As usual, Maka sensed something was wrong and gently implored me to say what it was.

I told her whenever I pictured the future, I saw her moving out of the city. Since she liked exploring and meeting new people, I was scared that she'd pack her bags and decide to travel. Or maybe she'd take up a really important job that forced her to be busy all the time.

"I'm afraid that I'll hardly get to see you." I couldn't raise my head. "I don't want us to grow apart."

My hands loosened. Maka slipped hers out and used the tips of her fingers to slide up my arms. Then she cupped my face and made me meet her eyes.

"If you tell me not to leave, I won't."

"Really? You mean it? You're not gonna leave? Ever?"

"Never."

"Don't go."

"I won't."

There had to have been a catch, but I knew there wasn't. Maka always kept her word. There was something I had to know, though. "Why?"

And she quoted me. "Because you are the most wonderful and most special person I've ever known. You're very important to me, Chrona." She smiled brightly.

I still felt like I didn't deserve any of this. "But… I'm not… I'm not like any of you guys, though. I'm still so s-s-shy and c-clumsy, and I-I stutter so easily and make m-mistakes. I don't know much about a-anything and I'm still too s-skinny and t-too sensitive…"

She shook her head, still smiling. "Nobody's perfect, Chrona. Everyone is different. If you think you're not worthy enough to be our friend, you're wrong. I don't value someone any less just because they think they have flaws.

"Look at Soul and his motorcycle. After it crashed, I asked him if he'd consider getting a new one. Of course, he said no. Even if there are better, more expensive motorcycles out there that he could save up to get, none of them would replace the one he's had. He's very fond of it."

She hugged my waist. "Nothing can replace you. Don't think you're worthless just because you're shy and clumsy. It's who you are. It's cute."

Just knowing she meant all of it made me blush from happiness and embarrassment at the same time. I wished I was as good at expressing myself. I bet Maka didn't even need to think about what she wanted to say. She just said it, straight from the heart.

Her heart…

I lifted a hand and stopped. What was I doing? I shouldn't touch her there. That was a bad place to touch. The heart was a personal, private place. It was one of the most important things keeping us alive. It held our emotions, our innermost thoughts, our opinions, our feelings, our secrets. It held courage, morality, compassion, and faith. It held love.

I shouldn't touch her there. I put my hand on my arm instead, rubbing it nervously.

Maka tilted her head, looking up at me with questioning eyes.

Would it hurt to ask? She didn't mind it that time I kissed her, so maybe this would be okay, too?

I swallowed the uncertainty away. "C-Can I feel your heartbeat?"

"Go ahead."

I felt my face heat up even more. She was willing to share it with me. I guessed that made sense. If it were reversed, I'd let her feel mine. Our souls had connected before, so maybe this would be similar.

Taking it from my arm, I let my hand hang in front of me, fingers curled.

Where should I put it? No matter what I did, I wouldn't be able to avoid touching her breast; it was so close.

_I can't do this._

I started to pull it away, but Maka reached up and brought it back.

I clenched my teeth and scrunched my eyes shut. My stomach was in knots. I turned my head, ducking it down so I wouldn't even sneak one peek.

My palm settled low on her chest; she held it in place.

_Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump_. I could feel it. There it was, that slow and steady lullaby, letting me know that Maka was alive and well. That she was real.

I relaxed my fingers. Maka kept her hand over mine.

I waited for the blush to leave before lifting my head. Maka wouldn't get mad if I looked, right? I slowly opened my eyes. I slowly turned my head toward her.

She had a peaceful smile on her face. Seeing that I'd decided to stop hiding, she gave my hand a light squeeze.

I'd do anything to guard her heart and make sure it stayed safe. Nothing could replace Maka. Not money, not fame, not power. I valued her more than life itself.

That realization might've been the one that strengthened my resolve. It might've been the melody of her heartbeat or the fountain. It might've been her smile. Whatever it was, it made me feel suddenly brave, and I liked it.

I gently pried her hand off and laid it and its partner on her lap. I held them there. I leaned in, lowered my head, and pressed my ear to her chest.

Maka drew in a sharp breath. Her hands tensed.

I focused on listening. I could hear and feel the drumming in my ear, and it was increasing rapidly.

I let go of her hands and wrapped my arms around her waist, hoping to calm her down. Funny. Usually she did that for me.

It must've worked, though, because soon her pulse returned to normal.

"You surprised me," she said.

"Sorry," I murmured and quickly wished I hadn't. I shouldn't have talked with my face so close to her bosom. Now I was distracted.

I forced myself to close my eyes and concentrate only on her heart. I felt Maka move and the next thing I knew, she was cradling my head and running her fingers softly through my hair.

Beyond the constant thumping and trickling of water, I thought I heard a window opening somewhere. I ignored it. It didn't matter if anyone saw us. I wasn't afraid of being judged by strangers anymore—Maka saw me as a beautiful swan. She called me cute. There was no point in worrying about what other people would think.

I smiled against the fabric of her shirt. I decided that now would be a good time to tell her.

"Maka?"

"Hm?"

"They sprouted."

She stopped in mid-stroke. She was quiet for so long that I raised my head to look at her.

"Really? They finally started growing?"

I told her yes, and her face fell.

I sat up straight, uncoiling my arms as her own slid away from me. Why was she sad?

"I'm sorry." As if she read my mind, she smiled apologetically. "I just can't believe I forgot all about them. That's great news, Chrona. I knew you could do it. Pretty soon you'll have a cozy little flower in your window." She beamed and put her fingertips together in front of her, the way she did whenever she wanted to make a request. "Can I come see them sometime?"

"Y-Yeah, you can see them whenever you like… They're small, but at least I know I'm taking care of them the right way."

She nodded. "Uh-huh. All you need are the five basic ingredients: water, sunshine, nurture, patience, and—"

"Love," I finished.

Maka's eyes widened. She must've noticed it, too. It was the first time I'd ever said that word out loud.

"That's right," she said quietly.

"Just like us," I added just as softly, remembering the day she first gave me the plant seeds.

"Just like us," she repeated, and we didn't say anything else for a very long time.

Sometimes I used to worry that I was only using her as a way to forget about the past. That thought always scared me because if it was true, then I was a horrible person. But it wasn't like that. She meant so much more than that.

Even if I never planned my future or if I never laughed or if I never joined a book club, I knew Maka would still treasure me.

Now that I'd learned she would always stay in Death City, I'd never have to worry about losing her. She would always be here, and I promised myself I'd always be there for her. No matter what, we'd always be together. Forever.

* * *

><p><span>AN: And they lived sappily ever after! XD *shot* x_x

Now that I'm finished, what's next? Probably more CroMa. Maybe I'll make some one-shots? Some longer stories? Some crossovers? Some fanfics where I'll actually pick a gender for Chrona? Only time will tell.

Oh, about that fountain—it can be seen in episode 39 of the anime! =D

Many thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and/or faved this! And to those of you who've got your own CronaxMaka stories still in progress... FINISH THEM! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! GET TO WORK! *shakes fist*

By the way, if you haven't already, you might like to read another CroMa short story I've written: "Easy If You Just Let It Be." Simply visit my profile's home page, and it'll take you to my deviantArt account.


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